Artemis Fowl:  The Chronos Assignment
by Ms. Marla
Summary: They say time heals all wounds. But maybe it can open new ones as well. Are Holly and Artemis ready for another adventure with time? And do they really have a choice?
1. The Information Highway

_A/N: Alright, I've been sitting on this idea for quite some time, but I was having a lot of trouble with the title. After finally thinking of something, I've decided to post. I have two other projects on the go, but no worries; it won't cause a lag for any reason. A brief note on the title, for those of you who are wondering: Chronos is, in Greek mythology, the personification of time. Alright, so here it is, chapter one. I'm so excited. To be completely honest with you, I'm in love with the concept of this story. Okay, so for real this time. Enjoy._

_Wait, one more thing. I don't own Artemis Fowl or any such thing. The only thing I own in this story is the plot and my own original character, who you will meet very soon. _

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**Artemis Fowl: The Chronos Assignment **

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**Chapter One; The Information Highway**

_Fowl Manor, Ireland_

It is every parent's nightmare to lose their child. Life for Artemis Fowl Senior and his lovely wife Angeline had been a living nightmare over the last three years. Their beloved son, their little Arty, had disappeared, into what seemed like thin air. The man that they had hired to protect their heir from birth had come to them, babbling about fairies and demons and time travel. Angeline, who knew all too well what grief could do to a person's mind, had suggested that Butler take a few days off. His few days off turned into retirement, as he came to the conclusion that Artemis was never returning. Deep down though, Butler always had faith. He knew the teenager far too well to believe that he was gone for certain. Juliet, who had caught wind of Artemis' disappearance, immediately returned to Ireland to spend time with the distraught and broken up family. And when she heard Butler's stories about the LEP, Juliet knew they were true. She remembered everything from her first encounter with Holly Short, to the day which she had been sat down in a chair, ready to have her memories erased. However, Juliet said nothing to the Fowl family, preferring to comfort her brother silently. The Fowls eventually moved on with life, Angeline giving birth to twin boys, whom she named Brailey and Connor. And the nightmare wasn't as scary anymore, but it was certainly still there.

Of course, everyone knows that nightmares are nothing but frightening dreams, and dreams only take place in the hidden corners of our minds as we sleep. Once we wake up, our nightmares disappear. It was no more than two weeks ago that Artemis Fowl, the missing and presumably dead, stepped out of a time tunnel and back into the lives of his parents and his new brothers. It was no more than two weeks ago that Angeline Fowl and Artemis Senior awoke from their horrible nightmares.

And for the two weeks since his return, Artemis had done a lot of catching up. He had been introduced to his new brothers, who were nearing two years of age, and who seemed to enjoy his company very much. The teenager had, in fact, spent an entire night up in bed flipping through photo albums that Angeline had put together in his absence.

Speaking of Angeline; it had been very hard for Artemis to explain to his parents where he had been for the last three years. Luckily, the boy had something flowing through his veins that his parents would never need to know about. Throughout his adventure in Hybras, Artemis had gained some extremely obvious souvenirs, one of which was the vivid hazel eye he had taken from Holly Short, his elfin friend. That was a problem easily solved though. It was a simple matter of wearing a blue contact lens to mask the hazel. Much to his dismay, Artemis had to settle for the cheap variety store brand on his first night home, until he could reach an optometrist to purchase a custom-made set of lenses. The other gift which Artemis had received in Hybras was magic. Unbeknownst to everyone, save he and Butler, blue sparks now ran through Artemis' veins mixed in with his blood cells and his very being.

It was this very magic that allowed Artemis to use the fairy gift of the _mesmer_ on his parents, and calling in his fairy friends to perform an intricate mind-wipe on the pair. Artemis neglected to mention that they were under the influence of the _mesmer_. And it was only a simple field mind wipe, for which Artemis was thankful. Foaly would've never missed the fact that the two adults were victims of magic. Angeline and Artemis Senior were now convinced that their son had been attending school in Switzerland for the past three years. Artemis certainly felt guilty about fooling his parents, but he knew that there was no other choice. Any lie was better than the alternative of truth, which meant exposing the fairies to more people than the need to know few.

And after two weeks of catch up time, Switzerland _was_ rather far away from Ireland, Artemis Fowl felt right back at home, and was glad to be there. Although, family bonding got a bit tiresome after the span of fourteen days. As such, it was an early Wednesday evening when Artemis settled down at his computer, the first time since his return. He nearly chuckled at the sight of the dusty monitor. It seemed like mere weeks since he had last sat there, but to him, it was.

Artemis turned the computer on, eager to surf the Internet and discover what scientific advancements had been made in his absence. As he typed the URL to his favourite search engine, only one thought was pulsing through Artemis' brain. The teenager proceeded to, almost unsurely, type the words _time travel_ into the search box. He clicked enter and waited less than a second before his results were listed. Ah, the wonders of the information highway.

Artemis scrolled through the usual junk that polluted the Web, reminded vaguely of his many plotting sessions that had taken place in this room years earlier. Plotting sessions which just happened to include the kidnapping of a certain magical being. Artemis pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, ever the one to always stay focused. After a half hour, overcrowded with useless information, Artemis struck figurative gold. 

An online journal, published on a reliable university website, written by one Doctor Velez. Artemis clicked the link and skimmed through the Doctor's many entries which discussed a vast array of subjects. A few of the more recent entries spoke of time travel. Artemis read the journal, fascinated, a plan already blossoming in his mind.

_On the subject of: _**Time Travel**

_It is often said, by some of the world's greatest minds, that travelling through time is quite possible, and perhaps even agrees with a scarce few of the laws of physics. However, these great scientific minds also firmly believe that travel is only possible if it happens to lead one to the future. Apparently, the past is done and is not to be accessed, not even by breaking a few of Newton's laws. I say apparently because I am sceptical that time can only be travelled to the future. And I say Newton's laws in relation to the third statement that the brilliant man conjured up (please see two entries previous for a full explanation). My friends and dear readers, if there are any of you; I have two things to say to you. One, a scientist can have a sense of humour, and I hope you enjoy my rather sketchy jokes. Two, I believe I am on the verge of a breakthrough. I doubt it will be long until the secrets of time are unlocked. I will be sure to keep you updated.   
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- Doctor R. Velez (Theoretical physics and Biochemistry)_

Artemis glanced over the screen and laid his eyes upon the contact button. A smirk played onto his lips. This Doctor R. Velez was no doubt a very intelligent man. Artemis clicked the contact button and a new window popped up, displaying a blank page for e-mail composition. Perhaps it was time to have some fun with the good doctor. Artemis began to compose his message.

_Doctor Velez,_

_I have read your entire journal and I must say I am very impressed with all you have done, especially in the field of time travel. Your last entry was a tiny bit disappointing; I was expecting you to reveal more about your views on presentism, although I'm sure you disapprove. But no matter Doctor, I feel it would be my privilege to meet you. Perhaps I can fly out to your lab in a few days time? Maybe Friday in fact, if you even read this, which I sincerely hope you do. Please return my e-mail and inform me if you're interested.  
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Truly, Artemis Fowl._

Artemis clicked the send button, a vampire-like smile lighting up his face. Of course he had neglected to mention that he was Artemis Junior. He doubted an extremely educated man like Velez would agree to meet with the young boy. Although Artemis could hardly be considered young anymore. No matter. The boy closed up the computer and stalked off to bed, hoping that he would receive a reply very soon. 

He knew he would. The scientist would hardly pass up an opportunity to befriend someone who could potentially fund his experiments. What Artemis didn't know, was that Doctor Velez was quite surprising, in _his _own way.

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_Haven_

The last two weeks had been anything but peaceful for Holly Short. It seemed as though she were constantly being whisked around. Running, running, running, but never getting a chance to stop and catch her breath. Wednesday morning rolled around and she awoke bright and early. Holly had somewhere important to be that morning. She showered and dressed, making sure to look her best. And truth be told, once she was ready, Holly didn't look nearly as tired as she had felt. The elf had stayed on the phone with Mulch Diggums until well after midnight, talking about the choice she had made.

Holly, after having returned from Hybras, had taken one look at her Private Eye firm and a large smile plastered itself on her face. Mulch Diggums and Doodah Day, two ex-convicts turned do-gooders were running the place, and surprisingly not into the ground. In fact, business was booming, and Holly knew she had a choice to make. She missed the LEP. She wanted to go back, very badly.

And so, Holly Short weighed out all her options. The pros overpowered the cons at an amazing ratio. In fact, she could think of no cons. The business was doing very well without her, and she would still be around to lend a helping hand when needed. Holly loved being a police officer, and she was one of the best there was. And of course Ark Sool was no longer Commander. Holly was absolutely giddy when she had found out he had been fired and disgraced. That rancid gnome had it coming. Trouble Kelp was his replacement, and what a great choice that was. Holly had always said that she would feel safe if Trouble Kelp had her back, and now he had the back of every fairy in Haven. Yes, Holly Short knew what she was going to do. She resigned as a Private Eye and today she would march into Trouble's office and ask for a job. Even if she just got Traffic. And if she had to resort to begging…well maybe she'd just pummel Trouble until he said yes.

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"I don't know Holly," Trouble sighed, running his fingers thoughtfully through his hair. Holly stared at him with and icy glare. 

"Why not?" she asked snappily, "You always said I was a great Captain. Heck, technically I still am. Please Trouble, I need this." 

"But there have been so many changes," Trouble mumbled lamely. Truthfully, he really wanted Holly back on the force, and he knew he could reinstate her to Captain with the blink of an eye. There was only one thing holding him back. He was worried that Holly needed more time to recover from missing three years of her life, or rather everyone else's.

"So what?" Holly half-shouted, "Foaly and I have been talking non-stop! He's basically taught me about everything he's done these past three years. Trouble, I think I've gone partially deaf in my right ear. And Vinyàya has explained all this stuff that I've missed. I feel like I haven't been gone at all!" 

That was a lie, but only a little one. Holly, in fact, felt almost completely out of synch with everyone else, but she wasn't about to let Trouble know such a thing. Instead she put on her best smile, still looking fierce.

"Please," she said, "Give me a chance if you don't think I can still do it. Remember, to you it may have been three years, but it's only been a few days for me. I haven't forgotten how to kick butt."

"I know," Trouble smirked, "And I don't doubt you can do it. The question is are you sure? Are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes!" Holly exclaimed, a feeling of victory washing over her.

"Fine then," Trouble said, fishing through his drawer for some papers, "Welcome back to the LEP…Captain Short.

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_A/N: Wow, that was longer than I expected it would be. Good! Anyways, please review and let me know your honest opinions. Constructive criticism is welcome. Review, and I'll continue. Cheers! And yes, I did use the same names for the twins as I did in my first story, if anyone notices. I'm very uncreative, and besides I like those names._

_-Liv xoxo_


	2. Impossible Theories

_A/N: Thanks so much to all of you who reviewed. And as I told many of you, I really don't like physics, preferring to study biology. As such, I had a lot of research to do concerning the laws of physics and time travel. I have nearly twenty pages of research sitting in front of me as I write this, and I hope it's enough. If, at any time throughout this story, you spot a fact that is incorrect please tell me so I can make a note of it. And if any concepts are unclear, don't hesitate to ask me about them. I'm not a science major, but I will do my best to answer. Anyways, that was a useless bunch of rambling. Okay, so in this chapter you will be introduced to my own original creation. Hope you enjoy!_

_Oh, and for those of you reading Retribution, I am SO sorry that it hasn't been updated in a few days, but I am completely dry of ideas for that thing. I have a wonderful ending planned out, but I just need some middle action. I promise that I won't go to bed tonight until I have something written down. So hopefully an update will be up tomorrow, but if not, I promise one by the end of the week.  
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AND, I'd like to thank Wikipedia, the source of my research. The facts I tell you about time travel are theories and facts thought up by others. I simply chose the ones that I agree with and explained them to you in my own words._

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**Chapter Two; Impossible Theories**

_London, England_

The clicking sound of heels against ceramic tiling reverberated off the beige walls and into the ears of Doctor Rebecca Velez. The repetitive sound was drumming into her skull, giving her quite the headache. Rebecca, thirty-four years of age, took a deep breath through her nose and sat down, the clicking sound stopping instantly. Truth be told, the doctor was very nervous. Today was Friday, the day of her scheduled meeting with Artemis Fowl. She was always nervous before meeting with business partners, although the fact that Artemis Fowl was a potential partner shocked her.

She had heard the Fowl name before. An Irish family, with no blatant history in the field of science. The man she was meeting with was no doubt rich, but he was a business man, not a scientist, nor had he ever shown any interest in the topic. Of course, Rebecca had heard the stories. The tales of Fowl being an inexplicably intelligent crime lord. No matter though. To her, business was business. And money was money.

When she had received Fowl's e-mail, Rebecca had replied immediately, not wanting to miss her chance with such a powerful name.

_Mister Fowl,_

_I am honoured that you find my work intriguing enough to pay me a visit. I would gladly play host to you on Friday. My lab is located at 1723 Harley Street. Anytime after two o'clock is wonderful for me. We can discuss my views on presentism at such a time. In fact, I'm quite interested on your views on the entire time travel subject. Hope to see you then._

_Sincerely, Doctor Velez_

Rebecca looked at the clock hanging on the wall to her left. There were only ten minutes left until two. The Doctor drummed her nails on her cherry wood desk, frustrated at the lack of productivity today. She had woken up before the birds only to arrive at the lab and find herself unable to stay focused. It was at that point Rebecca gave up on her experiments for the day, before she blew something up, namely herself.

A sudden knock at the door pulled Doctor Velez away from her reverie of explosions and back into reality. She stood up, tucking a few stray strands of black hair behind her ears, and made her way to the door. As she opened it, she was greeted by her secretary, Mrs Mariana Wade.

"Doctor," she smiled, "Artemis Fowl is here to see you."

"Excellent," Rebecca sighed nearly sarcastic, "Mariana, would you be so kind as to stay here and file a few of my papers." She pointed to a large stack of forms sitting next to her computer. Mariana nodded happily and got straight to work as Rebecca walked down the corridor to the lobby. Before she turned the corner and was in sight of Fowl, she smoothed out her black skirt, which hung modestly to just below her knees, and adjusted her hair one last time. After all, presentation was half the battle. Rebecca took a deep breath and rounded the corner, her lips folded into a large, welcoming smile. A smile that faltered the instant she saw her guests.

She approached the two men in her lobby; one very large and intimidating, the other a very scrawny child. Neither of these men were Artemis Fowl. They couldn't be. The child was too young and the large man looked very un-Irish. As she stopped, just short of three feet in front of them, the youngster did not spare a glance her way. The large man, however, looked up and nodded politely. Rebecca was extremely confused, to put her emotions lightly.

"Artemis Fowl?" she asked, still staring at the two males. Her voice conveyed her confusion. It was then that the teenager looked up at her, his eyes full of boredom.

"Yes," he sighed, "I'm here to see Doctor Velez, if you would please go fetch him." Rebecca was shocked. That little boy was Artemis Fowl? Odd. But she nearly laughed, despite her shock. The boy had clearly not registered the long white lab coat she wore over her blouse, nor had he read the nametag that hung around her neck, although at a distance of three feet, that wasn't the easiest thing to do. Rebecca pursed her lips.

"I _am_ Doctor Velez," she said. She surveyed Artemis' reaction quite carefully over the top of her glasses. He seemed almost as shocked as she had been moments earlier. For a brief moment, surprise flashed through his eyes. His eyes, which were very interesting. One was an icy blue, deep and full of dark thoughts. The other was bright hazel, fun and friendly. Interesting. Much more interesting than her simple chestnut eyes. Artemis noticed the woman investigating his eyes and smirked inside. He had taken the blue contact off as soon as he had left Fowl Manor, partially because he liked his new hazel iris, and partly because he figured that the scientist would find it interesting. And after a moment of basking in his rightness, Artemis was all business again; still surprised by the revelation that Doctor Velez was not a man, but indeed a woman.

"Oh," was the only answer he gave, staring straight back at the woman.

"Pardon me?" she asked in an accent Artemis couldn't quite place. Possibly half Spanish and half English.

"I beg your pardon Doctor, but I was under the assumption that you were a male. Your appearance comes as a small shock to me."

"Right," Rebecca said, blinking quite a few times to make sure she was awake, "I was under some assumptions myself. I pictured you to be…"

"Older?" Artemis interrupted her statement with a question.

"Much," the doctor nodded. Artemis smirked.

"I get that a lot," he said, "You were more than likely expecting my father, no?"

Rebecca nodded, her eyes travelling away from Artemis and back to the gigantic man behind him, who stood still as a statue.

"Well it's quite alright," Artemis continued, "My father never was a man who showed much interest in science. That was always my personal favourite."

"I'm sorry," Rebecca said, shaking her head at the absurdity of what was going on, "You don't look a day over fifteen. What could you possibly find interesting about my research. How do even understand half of it?"

"Not to worry Doctor," Artemis said, "I am well over fifteen, which can be proven by my passport if need be. And I understand because I am exceptionally intelligent, to be modest. Now, perhaps we should start over? I am Artemis Fowl, the Second."

The teenager held out his hand and Rebecca closed the three foot gap between them, taking it, and shaking.

"I'm Rebecca," she said, a smile forming on her face again. A new possibility had dawned on her. Maybe, if the young Fowl was impressed with her studies, he would convince his father to help fund her. Perhaps this day wasn't a complete waste. Rebecca made sure to maximize the charm. Her major source of funding had just up and left her, claiming that her theories were going nowhere, meaning that a deal with Fowl would be literal gold.

"Pleased to make your acquaintance Miss Velez," Artemis said, noticing the absence of a wedding ring on the doctor's hand, "This is my associate Butler."

Of course Artemis didn't have to call Butler by his last name any more. As he was retired, Domovoi would do just fine. However, the Irish boy refused to let go of tradition and continued the use of the name he had known for so long. He had also insisted that Butler come along, for a little break from Ireland.

"It's a pleasure," Rebecca said, looking up at Butler who towered almost two feet over her.

"Likewise," Butler said, taking her hand and shaking it gently. Artemis quickly grew impatient with introductions and longed to put his plan into action.

"Shall we be permitted to see your lab?" Artemis asked. Rebecca looked uncertain. She had no problem speaking of her theories, but to allow someone to see them in action was something she had never done before, not even for Mariana. Doctor Velez preferred to work alone, mostly because there were a scarce few who actually believed in what she was doing. There was one who she knew could have helped her, but the thought made her sad and she preferred not to dwell on sad thoughts.

"I usually don't allow anyone inside the laboratories," she finally answered, "Although we could just sit out here and talk."

Artemis nodded. He had expected as much. The three made their way over to chairs at the other end of the lobby and sat down. Well, Artemis and the doctor did. Butler preferred to stand, in fear that the chair would not support him.

"So doctor," Artemis began, "You actually think it is possible to move backwards through time?"

"Of course," Rebecca nodded, "In fact I think it is far more likely to travel backwards than forwards, because backwards has already happened. It is something tangible."

"In theory," Artemis replied.

"Everything I do is in theory Mister Fowl," Rebecca said, her eyebrows raised, "It is my _theory_ that worldlines are the means we have of travelling to the past."

"Worldlines?" Artemis asked. The word sounded interesting enough.

"Yes," Doctor Velez smiled, "Every object on Earth has a worldline. It's the path we travel on, constricted only by space and time. I believe it is possible for a person to travel backwards on their worldline, back into their past."

"Really?" Artemis inquired, sincerity all part of his plan.

"Indeed," Rebecca replied, "By one of two means. Travelling faster than the speed of light, this is generalized as impossible. One would have to travel faster than light far out into space, dealing with that dimension of their worldline, and then proceed to travel back to Earth at a slightly slower speed. After returning to Earth, they will have found themselves to have gone backwards in time. Personally, I too generalize this as impossible, although it is interesting to look into. I prefer the second means of travelling along worldlines."

"Which is?"

"Wormholes," Rebecca smirked, "Tearing right through the fabric of someone's worldline and landing them in the past. It's nearly as impossible, if anything, but I think I'm close. You see, only one end of a worm hole is moving at the speed of light, and sadly that's the end on our dimension. As such, it is impossible to spot them. On the other end of the spectrum, they move slowly, though they are much rarer. Of course, this is all in theory."

"Right, of course," Artemis nodded, "So you believe that wormholes exist all over the place."

"I do. They're always opening and closing, but they do so at an accelerated rate and we just don't see them. My job is to find one."

"Interesting," Artemis mused out loud, "You astound me Doctor. You are, no doubt, much more intelligent than many of your colleagues."

At that, the boy stood up as Butler and Rebecca followed suit.

"I must be going," Artemis told her, his mind smiling evilly at the terrible fun he was about to experience.

"Very well," Rebecca said, "Although I thought we would discuss presentism."

"Another time," Artemis said, "Perhaps one day we'll revisit this very moment, and I'll stay longer." He chuckled at his joke and noticed that Rebecca was grinning.

"Just a little word to the wise though, Doctor," he said, smirking like a vampire.

"And that is?"

"I wouldn't even bother continuing your research if I were you."

"And why is that?" Rebecca asked, a slightly snappy, slightly surprised tone in her voice, "Because it's so unlikely? Because it's what so many idiots have labelled impossible. Forgive me, but I think I'll take my chances on failure."

Rebecca was nearly livid. This Fowl character had come to her, apparently very interested. He had seemed so sincere as they were talking. And now he was leaving, and instead of a goodbye she was getting told to stop her research. She glared at Artemis who looked at her coolly.

"Oh no, none of that," he smiled.

"Then what?"

"I'd give up now, because I," he paused for dramatic effect, his eyes glowing, "I have already discovered the secrets of time."

And with that he was gone.

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_A/N: Two down. Hope you enjoyed that! Please review and let me know what you though. I'm especially looking for reviews about Rebecca, as I did create her and I would love to get opinions. I know it's early yet, but what do you think of her personality and such? We'll see more of her, so if you're unsure yet about whether you like her or not, don't worry.  
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Oh, I used Harley Street as her address because Eoin used it in TEC and I just figured it'd be easier than to locate her there than on some other street. Review! Cheers!_

_- Liv xoxo _


	3. Mind Games

_A/N: Hey guys! I just want to thank all of you who are reading and reviewing this! It really, as I've told you before, means a lot that you're interested. I'm also glad that no one seemed to get lost in all the science in the previous chapter. But I'm not surprised, you're a smart bunch. You deserve chocolate-chip-cyber cookies. Ha-ha, alright. So I'm done with my blabbering. Here's the next chapter. Enjoy!  
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Ah, wait! I forgot. I would like to know what relationship you guys want to see in this story. So think about it as you read this and let me know. Awesome, you all complete me!_

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**Chapter Three; Mind Games **

_Haven_

Friday evening rolled around and the recently reinstated Captain Holly Short was ready to go home. After punching out from work, at eight o'clock, the elf decided she would skip off to the Ops Booth and wish Foaly a goodnight before leaving. She rounded the corner and Foaly's little headquarters, as Holly had playfully nicknamed it, loomed into view. At the sight of the booth, Holly's smile flipped right upside down into a deep frown. All the lights were off, signalling that no one was inside. The captain sighed. She had forgotten that in her absence Foaly and Caballine had gotten married. Her best friend now had places to go, a family to spend time with. Holly gave a rueful smile at the door. She certainly regretted missing so much, but she still smiled because everyone seemed so happy, and that was good enough for her. Turning on her heel, Holly began to head to the main doors of Police Plaza, rather excited to get home and sleep. She was exhausted. She had barely reached the end of the hallway when something stopped her.

"Short!" Someone had called her name. Holly wheeled around and saw Commander Trouble Kelp walking at a brisk pace down the hall towards her.

"Kelp," she smiled, then caught her mistake, "I mean, good evening Commander."

Trouble, who was now standing right in front of her, laughed.

"It's alright Holly," he said, "Kelp is fine. Although I'd prefer Trouble over anything."

"Of course," Holly smirked, "What are you doing here so late?"

"I should ask you the same question." Trouble returned her smirk, throwing in a pair of raised eyebrows for extra emphasis.

"I had a whole bunch of paperwork to do," Holly grumbled. She hated paperwork with a fiery passion.

"Ah, that's not any fun," Trouble sighed, "Going home now?"

"That I am," Holly nodded, "I'm so tired." Her mind grimaced at that comment. She would've never told Commander Root that she was tired. She would never show any weakness to the man in charge. But Trouble was different, for a reason she couldn't quite place. Maybe it was because they had known each other since their childhood years. Theirs was a friendship that would never fade.

"Yeah, I feel you," Trouble said. Holly smiled at him.

"Are you going home too?"

"Not exactly," Trouble shook his head, "I'm going to go grab something to eat first. Want to join me?"

"Oh," Holly said, slightly surprised, "I would, but I really just want to get home. Thanks for the offer though."

"Anytime," Trouble smiled, a hint of letdown flashing through his eyes, "Well I'll walk you out then. We're headed the same way."

"Sounds good," Holly nodded. The two elves walked in silence down to the lobby of Police Plaza, where they nodded goodnight to the security guards, and headed out the front door. Once outside, they stood staring at the lights of Haven by night. It was a beautiful sight. The sun strips had faded to a dim purple light and the city flashed neon colours. Neither officer said anything for a few moments. Finally, Trouble turned to Holly, taking note of how beautiful she looked against the purple dusk.

"You know," he muttered, "While you were in Hybras…I missed you."

Holly turned to look at him, her lips curled into a smile. Her smile, however, did not completely reach her eyes. Her eyes seemed to be distant, somewhere other than Haven. Maybe they were wandering around the past she had missed.

"Thanks," Holly said, blushing ever so slightly, "I can't really say the same though. I mean, it was only a day for me. I'm sure if _had _been three years for me too, well I would've missed you a lot."

Trouble smiled feebly, happy that Holly had said such a remarkable thing. The Captain lightly giggled at the airy expression on her Commander's face.

"Goodnight Trouble," she said, turning away from him with a slight wave.

"Goodnight," he whispered, sure that from her spot, halfway down the road, she did not hear him.

As soon as Holly reached her apartment, she kicked off her shoes and flopped onto the couch, finding it more comfortable than it had ever been. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and get a good night's sleep but the rumbling noise issuing from her stomach told her that she had to do otherwise. The elf stood up grudgingly and stalked to her kitchen where she proceeded to prepare a light salad. As she munched on her dinner Holly thought about Hybras. It truly amazed her how much people could change in three years. Foaly had gotten married to the girl of his dreams, who Holly really liked. They had been introduced only days earlier, when Holly had learned that Caballine was carrying a child. Foaly had said that the baby would call her 'aunt Holly'.

And Trouble; well he was Commander now, which was a big change for anyone. He had also seemed to grow more handsome over the course of her absence. Holly smiled at that thought and looked down into her now-empty salad bowl. Her smile grew wider. Time for sleep. Finally.

But it seemed as soon as she closed her eyes, Holly was woken up by an incessant beeping noise coming from her coffee table; she had fallen asleep on the sofa. The elf's mismatched eyes drifted open and she picked up the communicator, but not before catching sight of the clock on her wall. It read just past one in the morning.

"Hello," she mumbled, "What?"

"Holly we have a situation. Can I ask you to be down at the demon reserve in a few minutes?"

Holly's heart jumped into her throat. Trouble, for it was he on the other end of the call, sounded nervous. And the demon reserve, well that was just bad news.

"Sure thing Commander, I'll be there in a minute."

"Good stuff Holly," Troubled didn't sound relieved as she had expected. Rather, his voice became shakier.

"Commander," Holly said slowly, "Is there maybe something I should know?"

"Well…kind of." Trouble's response did not go any further. Holly waited a moment in a tense, nervous silence before she repeated her question.

"The thing is," Trouble began, his voice faltering, "Qwan and No1 are…well, they're missing."

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_London, England_

Artemis Fowl was pleased. He sat in the passenger seat of the Bentley, smiling to himself. It was not that he didn't like Doctor Velez. No, quite the contrary. He thought she was a very nice woman, but he couldn't pass up a chance to get on her nerves. A life of crime, he led no more, but it didn't mean he couldn't destroy a few scientific theories from time to time. And besides, time travel was something he considered to be his own. It was something that he had shared with Holly, and only he and Holly would ever share it. No one else had the need to. It wasn't like they had to save the world.

"Where to Artemis?"

The teenager's attention was instantly snapped to Butler, who was driving the car, waiting for instruction. The ex-bodyguard did not look all that pleased.

"Back to the hotel please Butler," Artemis said, "And may I ask you something?"

Butler nodded, remaining silent and waiting for Artemis' inquiry.

"Is there something bothering you?" he questioned, surveying his friend with a deep gaze.

"Nothing at all," Butler replied. Artemis knew better than that. He had read enough simplistic psychology textbooks to know that when people said _nothing _they always meant _something_.

"Don't try to deceive me Butler," Artemis said politely, "You are a retired bodyguard not a retired actor." Butler raised his eyebrows at the Irish youth and Artemis frowned. "Sorry," he continued, "That was rather rude of me. I'm just concerned for your well being. Bottling emotions is bad for the body."

"I appreciate your concern Artemis," Butler told the boy, "And there is something bothering me."

"And that is?"

"I think this entire trip was a tad bit unnecessary."

"Oh really?" It was Artemis' turn to raise his eyebrows. Butler nodded curtly.

"I thought we were done with adventure," the huge man said, "And do you really want to get mixed up in time all over again?" Artemis sighed. Butler did have a point. He certainly did not want to disappear off the face of the planet for another three years. It would be absolutely unbearable. But there was no chance of that. These were just some, as much as he hated to admit it, childish antics to keep him amused until Holly called him with another mission to save the world.

"I promise that I won't get lost in time again Butler," Artemis said, his voice dripping with sincerity. He knew Butler was concerned. He knew Butler could not bear to see the closest thing he had to a friend disappear into another hole in the space-time continuum.

"Very well then Artemis," Butler said, "Have your fun." He said it almost grudgingly, although Artemis pretended not to notice. Rather, he pulled out his cell phone and dialled a number. As his fingers pressed the numbers lightly a smirk played upon his lips as he remembered his words to Jon Spiro so many years ago. Artemis the Hunter.

-----

Rebecca Velez stood in her lobby for quite some time after her guests left, completely still, glaring at the door from which they had exited. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally regained her senses, although that may not have been a good thing. Rebecca began to grind her teeth and clench her fists. She wanted to run out into the streets, screaming obscenities about that wretched Fowl child. What gave him the nerve to march into her office and speak to her the way she had? If she never heard from him again it would be too good to be true; that little bastard.

"I need a drink," she mumbled to herself, making a mental note to start keeping a bottle of champagne in the lab. After a few, soothing breaths, Doctor Velez marched back into her office to find Mariana still filing. The blonde secretary looked up as the doctor entered, beaming.

"Almost done Rebecca, just a few more to go."

"It's fine Mariana," Rebecca said, "You can go home early today. I'm going to close up soon." She couldn't stop a smile from forming on her lips. Mariana was always so bubbly and her good moods seemed to rub off on anyone she spoke to.

"Are you sure Doctor?" Mariana asked, looking puzzled, "Did your meeting not go too well?" She said the last part delicately. The secretary knew that Rebecca could be awfully short tempered, especially when her business meetings went down the drains. After all, funding was hard to find for such an odd thing as time travel. It had been Mariana who had recieved the phone call only days earlier. Professor Black, who taught physics, had revealed to her that he would no longer be providing funds for Doctor Velez's 'little jokes for experiments.' There went almost a million dollars a year. It had not been a good week, and Mariana sincerely hoped that the meeting with Mister Fowl would change that. Evidently, it had not.

"It went horribly," Rebecca said tensely, "And yes I'm sure. But check my messages before you leave. I was expecting a call from my sister. We're supposed to meet for dinner tonight."

"Alright," Mariana smiled warmly, "Just a moment." She left the office and Rebecca threw herself onto the chair behind her desk. Rubbing her eyes, she nearly laughed at herself. There was no way Fowl could have possibly discovered the secrets of time. His family name screamed greedy. There was no way that he would find out something great and keep it to himself. No, he'd sell it for every penny it was worth. Rebecca shook her head. She had been tricked by a child. The sooner she got home to that champagne the better. Just at that moment, Mariana came bustling back into the office. She looked a bit unhappier than usual.

"Problem?" asked Rebecca.

"Depends on what you consider a problem," Mariana said, shrugging ever so slightly. Rebecca glared at her with one eyebrow raised so high it was in danger of colliding with her hairline.

"You only have one new message on your personal line," Mariana continued.

"Okay," Rebecca waited for the rest. She was expecting Mariana to inform her that her sister had cancelled dinner than evening. Of course, from her experience that morning, Rebecca should have known to expect the completely unexpected.

"It's from Artemis Fowl."

Rebecca's jaw dropped and her eyes grew wide. Her personal line had been invaded by Fowl. Only close friends and family had that line. It was personal, after all.

"How the hell did he get that?" she snapped, perhaps a bit more vicious than intended. Mariana looked slightly taken aback.

"I've no idea," said the secretary, "I can erase it if you'd like."

"No, no, no," Rebecca muttered, breathing in through her nose deeply, "Just go home. I'll see you tomorrow." Neither lady said another words as Mariana left the office, returning home to her husband and three children.

Doctor Velez, however, was not going to close up as soon as she had thought. She picked up the phone and dialled the extension to reach the messages on her private line. An automated voice told her she had one saved message, which she played. As she listened to the infuriating voice on the other line, she drummed her fingers nervously on her desk.

_Doctor Velez, I know it hasn't been long but I have a feeling that you are missing me already. I think an apology is in order for my abrupt exit today, but pardon me for not wanting to stick around long enough for you to cut open my head and take my secrets. Because, contrary to what I know you think, I was not lying. If you wish to speak to me, then perhaps I can release some of my information to you…for a fee of course. I've e-mailed you my number. Hope to do business with you. Oh, and by the way, don't even bother wondering how I got the number. I have someone who has all the numbers. Until later._

The message ended. Rebecca glared daggers at the phone. He hadn't even left his name, not that he had to. And what made her angrier was that Artemis knew he had managed to crawl right under her skin. No, she wouldn't call him back. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction, although he undoubtedly already had it. However, it was time to do a little research on Artemis Fowl.

-----

_A/N: Alright, I hope you liked that! Reviews are, of course, greatly loved. And again, let me know what kind of relationship you'd like to see in this story, if any. It could go any way as of right now, and I want to make you guys happy! Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	4. Set In Motion

_A/N: Hello all! I must say I'm very happy! You're reviews were very much appreciated! And so I thank you, again, for being such awesome people! That's a lot of sentences with exclamation marks. Oh well, all the more fun. Anyways, let's just jump right into it. Here is the next chapter. Hope you la la like it[/exclamations_

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**Chapter Four; Set in Motion**

_Haven_

Not many hours later, Captain Short sat in her freshly redecorated office, a stack of papers towering from her desk, hiding her completely. The elf had a vague sense of déjà vu. Yes, she had been in this exact same position earlier that evening. But one thing led to another, and then to another, and her peaceful night of sleep was now being spent filling out more forms. Although, Holly did fill these forms out with more passion than the ones from earlier. Because, déjà vu or not, there was one major difference between her two scenarios. It was nearing four o'clock, an insane hour for waking, and she was now working on the mysterious disappearance of her two warlock friends.

Holly stifled a yawn, inwardly cursing. Haven was never quiet. Something always seemed to be happening, and it always seemed to involve the daring Captain. Holly neared the part of her report entitled _'Description of Crime Scene'_. Many words floated into her mind, but she simply jotted down that there were signs of a struggle. The elf paused a moment, staring down at the paper with a deep gaze. It had barely hit her that Qwan and No1 were missing.

Even though the two were warlocks, they had decided to stay on the demon reserve with their fellows. The demon reserve; a rather ingenious idea. The entire concept was to keep the demons together until they became used to life underground, to slowly release them into society, to keep them safe. Not that it had worked. Both Qwan's and No1's houses had been ransacked. And now, neither could be found. Needless to say, it was not good news.

Holly blinked a few times, attempting to refocus on her papers, but she had no such luck. There was something nagging her, tucked right into the back of her mind. There was definite proof that the two warlocks had been kidnapped, but what would someone want with two warlocks? She had one theory, and she was not particularly fond of it. After just a moment's hesitation, Holly's hand travelled to her belt and fetched her communicator. She would call Artemis and get his opinion. And if his opinion was the same as hers then she would be worried.

-----

_London, England_

Rebecca's search was futile. It had been nearly two hours and she could find nothing on Artemis Junior to either prove or disprove his claims of time travel. Frustrated with her failure, the doctor shut the computer down and rested her head on her desk. It had been a long day, and absolutely nothing had gotten accomplished. She began to feel a nervous sensation in the pit of her stomach. What if Fowl had really truly beat her in discovering the marvels of time? How would she ever be able to live with herself? All her research, all her time, all her pride, her hopes, her dreams, all stomped on by a stupid teenager. Rebecca lifted her head slightly and pulled open the top drawer of her desk. After a bit of shuffling around, she lifted a dusty silver picture frame from the drawer, a weak smile forming on her lips.

The picture showed her and a very handsome young man hugging beneath L'Arc De Triomphe, her absolute favourite monument on Earth. That had been nearly fifteen years ago, the summer after her first year of university. The boy in the photograph, who looked no older than twenty smiled up at her, just as he had so long ago. It seemed like forever since she had last seen that dazzling smile, perfectly contrasting the deeply tanned skin and blue eyes.

"One day Danny, one day," she mumbled as she placed the picture back in the drawer, this time on top. Rebecca shook her head sadly, her mind wandering back to her summer in Paris, spent with her high school lab partner turned lover. Never had she loved anyone more than Danny, her image of perfection. It was a plan they both subconsciously made, but never shared with the other. Get married and spend forever together, and together unravel the very fabric of time, being able to visit the past whenever they wanted, staying young forever.

Of course, plans are made, only to be broken. Rebecca's entire world had come crashing down around her ears only three months after that magical summer. Death crept upon the happy couple, tearing them apart, ripping Danny from Rebecca's steel grip. And her love was no more. The only thing that kept the young woman going was the thought of one day, finishing the work that she and Danny had silently vowed to begin. And one day, she would change history. Her Danny would still be with her, beside her, running his fingers across her knuckles as he always used to.

But, if Fowl had already discovered the secret, then there was really no point. Millions of dollars worth of research now completely useless, and she was the poor soul responsible for paying all the loans back. Maybe a quick phone call wouldn't hurt. Rebecca chewed on her lip. God, did she ever hate kids. Her hand grazed the receiver, ready to pick it up and dial Artemis' number, which she had jotted down on her memo pad. Just before she could lift the phone off the hook, it began to ring, once more on her personal line. Glancing at the caller ID, she saw that it was a blocked number. There was no doubt in her mind about who her caller was. Yeah, she did not like kids.

-----

Back at the hotel, Artemis was bored. There was a swimming pool, but it stank of too much chlorine. Not that Artemis would have gone swimming. No, he'd have much rather preferred to sit by the pool and read. But that was, obviously, not an option, the stink was unbearable, so Artemis took to sitting in the hotel room, reading his journal entries from the past two weeks since his return. There were, of course, many entries concerning Holly. This got Artemis to thinking about how he had not talked to the elf in many days. He would make it a point of calling her once back in Ireland. In a very foolish move on his part, Artemis had left the ring communicator in his bedroom safe. Oh well, Ireland was only a couple of days away. He continued reading, laying his head back on the rather uncomfortable hotel pillow. The old Artemis would have called room-service to fix such a horrible error, and of course tortured to poor maid for a little while.

As if on cue, the bedside telephone began to ring. Artemis eyes it wearily, wondering who would be calling. Slowly, he picked up the phone and drawled an almost friendly hello.

"Good afternoon Mister Fowl," a cheery woman greeted him, "This is the front desk speaking. You have a long distance call. Would you like to take it?" 

Long distance? Surely it was Mother or Father calling to ask when their son would be home.

"Yes, yes," Artemis answered, "Patch it through please." After a brief silence, Artemis was connected to his long distance caller. The voice her heard though, was not that of Mother or Father. His heart nearly jumped into his throat.

"What have you been up to lately Mud Boy?"

"Holly?" Artemis asked, incredulous, "How did you find me? I mean I don't have…" 

"Your communicator," Holly cut him off, "I know genius. I tried calling five times." 

"Well that's not very smart," Artemis droned, "If I didn't answer the first time, why would I answer the next four?"

"Hilarious," Holly said, her voice drenched in sarcasm, "What if it was an emergency, huh?" 

"Is it? I mean you surely didn't call to say hello. Which reminds me, how did you know I was here?" 

"One, yes it is an emergency. Two, shut up. Three, Foaly knows everything. He traced your call from earlier," Holly paused for a moment, "_Which reminds me, _why does Foaly get a call, and I'm left in the dark?" 

"Business matters," Artemis said quickly, "I was going to contact you once I was reunited with the communicator. So, what is this emergency? Oh and, hello Foaly."

"Howdy Mud Man," Foaly's voice boomed from somewhere else in the room. After Holly had realized that Artemis was not answering his communicator, she had called Foaly down to the station to help her locate him, endlessly apologizing to Caballine for the unholy hour at which she called.

"Howdy?" Artemis nearly chuckled, "How fitting."

"Why you little…"

"Boys," Holly said, her voice a tiny bit raised, "Control yourselves or I'll turn the speakerphone off." She rolled her eyes, having to deal with such antics from grown men.

"Yes, of course. Sorry Holly," Artemis mumbled, "Now, emergency? No emergency?" 

"Qwan and No1 are missing," Holly informed him, "They're homes looked horrible, things thrown everywhere. They definitely did not get up and leave on their own accord. Now, I have this one theory, but I'm not sure if…" 

"Whoever did it wants to recreate the time circle," Artemis interrupted her.

"That's what I was thinking," Holly said, her heart sinking. Her theory had been correct. If Artemis thought so, then it was fact. She could almost envision the troubled expression on the young man's face.

"But it's impossible," Holly continued, breaking the silence, "They'd need three more magical beings, who actually have some idea what they're doing. And of course, Qwan and No1 have to be willing. And if I know them, they won't just go blabbing ancient secrets to anyone. Not after Hybras. Time travel is a dangerous thing."

Artemis lapsed into a thoughtful silence once more. Yes, it was hardly likely that whoever had kidnapped the warlocks would steal the secrets from them. It was hardly likely that the time circle would be properly recreated. But if the kidnapper was desperate enough, then he or she would look for other alternatives of hopping along time. A very disturbing though popped into Artemis' head.

"Foaly," he said suddenly, "That number I asked you for earlier…" 

"For Rebecca Velez," Foaly said, nodding, "What about it?" 

"Well, you were talking about all the facts you knew about her research and how it was pretty spot on. That there is more than one way of travelling through time." 

"Yeah, there is. The time tunnel is just one way. There are actually quite a few. What Doctor Velez is researching seems to be the most realistic."

"Alright," Artemis said, his voice speeding up, "You knew a lot about her, but does the rest of Haven?" 

"Of course," Foaly answered slowly, realizing what Artemis was leading up to, "After Holly and you disappeared; time travel became very interesting to everyone. But no one, not even tech genii down here got as far as that Velez woman. Artemis…you don't think?"

"I do," Artemis said.

"Would someone kindly explain what's going on?" Holly piped up.

"I think you might want to come out to London Captain," Artemis said, "As for me, I have to go. Important call to make." 

He hung up and dialled down to the front desk, telling the same cheery lady that he wanted to dial out. He gave Rebecca's number and in moments, he heard the click of a phone being picked up.

"What do you want Fowl?"

"Look Doctor Velez," his voice was laced with urgency, "I understand that we got off on the wrong foot today. I should have never told you to stop your research, and I apologise again. But I have something very important to tell you." 

"What? That you've discovered a cure to the common cold as well?"

"No," Artemis' annoyance flared for a split second, "You are in danger doctor. And so is your research. I can send someone to protect you, but you have to give me permission." 

"What are you going on about?" Rebecca nearly snorted, "Please Fowl, my research is apparently obsolete anyways, so why should I care?"

Artemis opened his mouth to reply, but could say nothing. Rebecca had hung up on him, a monotonous beeping where her voice had been less than a minute ago. Artemis proceeded to hang up and rub his temples. He got off the bed and began to walk to the door. As soon as he stepped outside, he caught sight of Butler walking towards the room, his arms full of caviar and potato chips, quite the odd combination, but Artemis had grown quite fond of the potato chips in recent days.

"Just drop the bags off old friend," Artemis called, "We have places to be."

-----

_Haven_

Qwan and No1 sat in a dark cellar-like room, each chained to an opposite wall. The lights were dim and the room was damp and dull. It was a very unhappy place. They had no idea as to why they were being held captive, but that was a question to be answered very soon. The door to the cell creaked open and two gnomes stepped inside. One was carrying a rather large gun.

"What do you want from us?" Qwan asked bravely. Both gnomes, who were wearing hooded cloaks, sniggered.

"You old bat," said the one without the gun, "Are going to tell us how to operate a time tunnel. Qwan's eyes went wide.

"Never," No1 stuttered, "Forget it, not ever, infinitely no." 

"Shut up you little imp," snapped the not so lethally armed creature, kicking No1 with the toe of his boot, "Unless you plan to tell us of your secrets."

"Why do you want them?" Qwan asked, his voice never quivering.

"I have unfinished business in the past," the gnome spoke vehemently.

"Then we shall not relinquish our secrets. Not to those who use magic for evil."

"Very well," the gnome sneered, "That is your choice. And it'll be the last you ever make." He turned to his friend with the gun. "Kill him. He's useless."

The armed gnome, who was burlier than the intimidating speaker, took brief aim and fired a laser into Qwan's chest. The old warlock had no chance. No1 looked on in horror as his mentor crumpled to the ground in a heap.

"Will you tell us now?" asked the gnome. No1 shook his head violently.

"Kill him too?" asked the gunman.

"No, not yet. There are other ways. Don't think I haven't done my research. Find us a ride to the surface. Somewhere near London." 

The gunman nodded and left the dungeon. The gnome giving the orders smirked beneath his hood. Time was now on his side.

----- 

_A/N: So let me know what you thought. Awesome, and thanks for still reading. I love you all with cyber-chocolate-hearts. Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	5. Of Broken Glass and Broken Nerves

_A/N: Hello, hello! I want to, again, thank all of you who read and all of you who review! You make me feel that I'm doing something right. Anyways, I suppose we can jump right into the update. I don't really have anything important to say, but it kind of feels like tradition to place a note at the beginning of every chapter, just to thank you. Okay, here it is. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Five; Of Broken Glass and Broken Nerves**

_London, England_

After hanging up the phone, Rebecca sat in silence, boring holes into the opposite wall with her intense gaze. She tried, with a valiant effort, to push Artemis' words out of her mind, but they continued to resurface. Was she really in danger? As much as she wished to believe it was only Fowl being an ignorant jerk, she couldn't help but feel slightly worried. The doctor stood slowly and left her office, the tapping of her heels echoing in the empty building. It may have still been light outside, but that did nothing to calm Rebecca's nerves. She reached the lobby and hastily locked the entrance door. It would do nothing to detour a determined criminal, but it provided Rebecca with a tiny bit of comfort.

The doctor hatched a mental plan; lock up the lab, turn on the alarm, and leave through the back door. She would leave a light on though, in hopes that a thief would believe there to be someone inside. Rebecca reached into the pocket of her long, white coat and found that it was empty. She had left the keys to the lab in her office. She crept back down the hallway and into her office. The keys were sitting on her desk, attached to a heart-shaped keychain Danny had given her over a decade ago. She grabbed the tiny memory of her deceased love and left the office, closing and locking the door behind her.

Rebecca entered the lobby again, this time passing the entrance and Mariana's desk, right down the opposite hall where the laboratory was situated. She was so preoccupied with thoughts of the day that she failed to notice the slight heat haze that hovered over her shoulder. This unnoticed haze followed Rebecca down the corridor and watched, with invisible eyes, as she unlocked the door, wanting to give the room a quick once-over before leaving the building. As soon as Doctor Velez cracked the door open, the heat haze turned into something much more ugly and much more evil.

Rebecca had barely stepped into the lab when she felt a rough hand grab her wrist. She whipped around and saw an ugly old man staring at her. One odd thing though; he was staring _up _at her, what with the top of his head barely reaching her chest. However, as Rebecca immediately realized, the tiny little man was stronger than he looked. He pushed her backwards and into the lab. And then he proceeded to pull out a very futuristic looking gun. Rebecca's eyes grew close to the size of plums.

_Oh God,_ she thought, _Fowl was right. I'm going to die. _

The little man seemed to have sensed her fear, because his ugly face cracked into an evil smile. He waved the gun around a little and placed it against Rebecca's stomach. She took a step backwards, bumping into a table as she went along. This resulted in her falling to her knees, her face now level with the man's. Although argument could definitely be held over whether or not this 'man' was human. Rebecca had no time for argument though, nor for debate. Not with the metallic gun now pointed directly at her forehead. She was too afraid to move. Being held at gunpoint was not something she had ever needed to cope with before. Needless to say she did not like it very much.

"You work here?" the little creature, for that was what Rebecca had decided he was, grunted. Rebecca nodded quickly, a great discomfort caused by the cold metal against her forehead.

"Are you important?" the creature grunted again.

"I'm…I'm the doctor," Rebecca replied, unsure whether the truth was a good idea or not. Perhaps if this little man knew she was important then she would be labelled indispensable. Whereas a secretary, with little to no knowledge of her research, would have been killed on the spot. At least, in theory. So far, many of Rebecca's theories had proven to be correct. She hoped this would not be one of the first exceptions. The creature seemed to be thinking.

"What's your name?" he asked, his voice softened only a tiny bit this time.

"Doctor Velez," she muttered, staring down at the diminutive man's boots. Anything was better than the cold eyes she had caught a glimpse of moments earlier. Eyes that seemed to have lost everything they once held dear. At the mention of her name, Rebecca felt the gun drop away from her forehead and a wave of absolute relief swept over her. Maybe she would actually live to tell this wild tale to someone. Not that anyone would actually believe this…

"Doctor," the creature spoke in a calm manner, almost business like, as if he had once held a position of authority somewhere. "I have some very important business to attend to. And you," he paused for a moment, fixing Rebecca with a cold stare, "You could be of some importance."

Rebecca wanted nothing more than to tell the vile being in front of her to go to hell. However, as he had a gun and she did not, the doctor decided that the intelligent, and potentially life-saving, thing to do, would be to remain silent.

"I have some…associates outside," the creature informed her, "You wouldn't mind if they came in, would you?" Rebecca did not reply. She looked firmly at the cement floor, hoping that her displeasure was conveyed. Apparently, it was, as she felt the metal gun pressed against her cheek, this time violently. And besides, this man didn't care for her opinion. His cronies would come in, whether she liked it or not. At least, that's what she thought.

"I asked you a question," the little man hissed. Rebecca felt tears welling in her eyes and watched as her glasses became foggy from the heat radiating off her sweating face.

"They can come in," she mumbled lamely, trying hard to choke back her sobs. First Fowl and then this.

"Excellent." The horrible little monster proceeded to pull out something that resembled a walkie-talkie and muttered instructions into it, all the while keeping the gun focused on Rebecca's trembling form. As soon as he was finished giving orders, the creature turned back to face Rebecca, his lips curled into a cruel smile. She opened her mouth to tell him how sinister he was, but was thankfully interrupted by the entrance of two other people. Again, though, they were hardly classifiable as people. One resembled the grunting man that was brandishing a gun in her face and the other was smaller, perhaps a little cuter as well. He looked innocent, and almost as scared as Rebecca felt. She could instantly tell that the creature was not here on his own free will; not that the bonds around his hands were any indication.

The first little man, who had attacked Rebecca, stalked over to the others and pulled the bound creature away from the other, burlier looking man-thing. Rebecca, although confused, felt yet another wave of relief that the gun was no longer ready to be fired straight through her face.

"Okay Imp," growled the man with the gun, "Where is it? Make it appear!" Rebecca was confused. What was he looking for? And had he just referred to the little creature as imp? Maybe this was all a bad dream. Maybe she had actually gone home and downed a full bottle of champagne and was now paying the price. That had to be it. This was definitely not real.

"I…I don't know where," the imp stuttered. Rebecca, who had been keeping her eyes on the friendly looking creature rather than the floor, could tell he was lying. There was something defiant behind his scared eyes. And suddenly Rebecca understood.

"You won't find it," she blurted out before even realizing she had spoken. And there she was, with a gun pointed in her face again. It looked real enough. Perhaps no more speaking.

"Where is it?" the creature hissed, "I'll kill you if I have to leave through the front door." It was definitely not a hollow threat. There was a poison behind the man's words that made her stomach turn. However, Rebecca did not answer. It may have become somewhat obsolete, but her research was still her research, and she was prepared to take it to her grave. Of course, she had expected her grave to be much further into the future.

"Five seconds," he whispered vehemently, "All you have to do is point. Four. Three. Two…"

Rebecca closed her eyes. She had once heard that if one didn't see the injury at the moment it happened, it would not hurt as much. In a single moment, her muscles relaxed and she was ready to be reunited with Danny.

"Stop!"

Rebecca's eyes flew open, staring right down the barrel of the gun. She noticed that tears had begun to leak down her cheeks. She also noticed that the shout had come from the friendly-looking imp, as it was called. She knew what was coming next. She knew the reason she was still alive. The creature was going to give away her secret. He was going to save her life.

"It's over here," he mumbled, pointing to a large circle of metal poles, strung together with electrical wires. The two burly creatures smiled at each other and pushed the imp forwards, towards the circle. Only one thought pulsed through Rebecca's mind. _How had he known? _

She watched helplessly, forgetting she even had legs, as the three short men approached her work. The imp placed his hands together, muttered something in a language Rebecca could not understand. It sounded somewhat European, but like nothing she had ever heard before. As the imp fell silent, he began to pull his hands apart. Rebecca's jaw dropped at what she saw. It seemed that the air, the space, the very fabric of time, was being ripped apart by this little creature's hands. A pulsing blue hole now sat directly in the middle of her metal circle. The very thing she had been trying to achieve for the past five years, this imp had managed in seconds. He had opened a wormhole. He had opened _her_ wormhole. The last thing Rebecca remembered before her eyes gave way to darkness was seeing the three tiny creatures climb into the blue hole.

-----

_Police Plaza, Haven_

After Artemis hung up, Holly turned to Foaly, her expression halfway between confusion and annoyance.

"What were to two going on about?"

"I think he's right," Foaly said, ignoring her question, "I'd get to London if I were you." Holly stayed rooted on the spot, her arms folded tightly against her chest.

"I'm not going anywhere until you explain what's going on."

"Alright," Foaly sighed, "You haven't heard much about Rebecca Velez, am I right?" Holly nodded, her arms uncrossing.

"Well she's a Mud Man scientist," Foaly continued, "Very smart woman. And she's researching time travel. As you heard, after you and Artemis disappeared, we all became very interested in time travel, you know, making hypothesis as to when you'd return and all that. Well, it seemed that this Velez was making quite some progress as of about five years ago. She was working with wormholes." 

"Of course, no one cared until the time tunnel incident," Holly muttered.

"Exactly," Foaly said, "And after the People found out about her research, we began to keep close tabs on her, in case she ever did discover the secret. But she's been working on the same project for years and so far, nothing. But, for all these years…" 

"No one magic ever interfered," Holly finished the centaur's sentence. Foaly nodded solemnly.

"Someone is obviously desperate to travel back in time and change something. Artemis seems to think that Doctor Velez will be attacked. I mean, there's good reasoning behind that theory. If her experiment was helped out by magic, it could actually work." 

"Right," Holly nodded, "But Foaly, what exactly is her experiment?" 

"Five years ago, Rebecca Velez trapped a wormhole."

-----

_London, England_

Speeding down the streets of London, it seemed that the Bentley was getting caught at every red light. Artemis' patience was wearing thin. There was a life at stake and he couldn't help but to feel somewhat responsible. If he had, perhaps, been kinder to Doctor Velez she would have heeded his warning. Hopefully Artemis would still be able to make a proper apology.

After what seemed like an eternity, Butler parked the car and the two men stepped out, Butler standing protectively over the younger man's shoulder. Artemis knew Butler was armed. There was a dangerous glint in his eye and a spark of confidence that came only from wielding a weapon.

Artemis took a step towards Rebecca's rented building, but felt a firm hand on his shoulder hold him back. He turned and looked at Butler quizzically.

"It's not safe," the large man said, "We should wait until Holly gets here."

"Butler, you don't seem to under…" 

"I understand," Butler interrupted, "But I can't let anything bad happen to you. So please, just wait."

It was something in the tone of his voice, the way he had said please, that made Artemis stop. He would wait. It was better to have Holly around anyways. At least then they had backup.

"I just hope we don't have to wait long," Artemis sighed.

"Don't get your trousers in a knot Mud Boy. I'm right here." Artemis looked directly to his left as Holly Short materialized next to him.

"You're lucky though," she continued, taking off her helmet and rubbing her ears, "I had a direct flare. Barely caught it."

"Hello to you too," Artemis smirked.

"Hellos later," Holly said. The she turned to Butler, who was poised for action. "What's the plan big guy?" 

"I go in," Butler said, taking a step forward, "Make sure it's safe. You stay out here with Artemis until I get you an invitation. Then you can come in and we can figure something out. Hopefully no one has been here yet."

"Hopefully," Artemis echoed, "And must I stay out here?"

"Yes," Butler said, marching to the entrance door. He tried it. "Locked," he mumbled. Not that a locked door had ever stopped a Butler before. The giant man pulled a rather ominous looking rifle from inside his suit and butted the glass with extreme force. It shattered in the blink of an eye, Butler carefully stepping through the shards and into the office. He turned back to Holly and Artemis.

"Stay put," he instructed and walked further into the darkened office, gun drawn.

"Three years haven't changed him much," Holly said, leaning against the Bentley, "Other than that hair. It's longer than mine."

Artemis chuckled slightly, "We have quite a bit of catching up to do," he said. Holly nodded faintly. The teenager turned to look at her, a smirk lighting up his face. Holly knew that look all too well.

"What are you planning Artemis?"

"Oh nothing," he said in the most innocent tone he could muster. And before Holly could process what he was doing, Artemis had set off at a brisk pace for the entrance. Holly's lightning reflexes weren't enough to stop him, as his shirt slid between her fingers. The boy snaked through the shattered door.

"Sorry Holly," he mumbled lamely, "But I'll see you soon."

He walked off; his shoulders slightly slumped at leaving his friend outside. Holly went back to leaning against the Bentley. _Stupid fairy laws, _she thought. And then it started to rain.

"D'arvit."

-----

Inside the building, Butler had begun to creep towards Rebecca's office. There seemed to be no one in the building, but the silence was unsettling. Hopefully the Doctor had simply gone home for the night. As he began to open the door to her office, a small voice interrupted him.

"There's really no need for that. If a thief were here, I have a feeling he'd want the laboratory more than anything."

Butler turned around, frowning. He looked down at Artemis with almost disapproving eyes.

"Why'd you come in?" asked Butler.

"I figured it was safe," Artemis replied, "No gunshots." Butler almost rolled his eyes. Almost. Instead, he contented himself with a quick shake of the head.

"To the lab?" Artemis suggested.

"To the lab," Butler nodded, "But I go first." He stepped in front of Artemis and the two stalked off towards where Rebecca performed her experiments; the very place she had refused to show them earlier. Nervously, Butler placed his hand on the silver doorknob and began to twist it around. Unlocked, perhaps not the best sign.

Upon opening the door, he stepped inside the lab and quickly scanned his surroundings. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary, save the large amounts of scientific equipment scattered around the room and…

"Doctor Velez!" Artemis exclaimed. The woman was on the floor, her eyes closed, glasses askew, hair messy. Artemis dropped down to his knees, praying that she was simply unconscious. He checked her wrists for a pulse and found a rather slow one. There also appeared to be no blood in the vicinity. She was alive and relatively unharmed. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Butler check around the room for clues," Artemis instructed, "I'll try and get her to come around." He began to poke and prod the Doctor and after a moment, her eyes fluttered open.

"Fowl?" she mumbled through dry lips.

"Yes," Artemis said happily, "Are you alright? What happened here?"

The Doctor sat up abruptly, ignoring the dizzy feeling in her mind. She looked over at her metal circle. The pulsing blue orb had disappeared. So had the three little men. Now there was only Fowl and her. And that 'Butler' from before. Had it all been a bad dream? Rebecca blinked a few times. She could still feel the cold metal of the gun against her face. Oh no, it had been real.

"Doctor?" Artemis asked again, "Are you alright?" He sounded somewhat calm. Rebecca had no idea what to say. Would he believe her story about the tiny men? She wasn't even sure if she truly believed it.

"There were…little…They were so small. And the blue…a hole…just like last time…big…but little men."

It made absolutely no sense, but realization seemed to dawn on Fowl's face, and he looked concerned.

"There were little men?" he asked, "Maybe a little over three feet?" Rebecca nodded unsurely.

"How'd you know that?" she asked quietly.

"I have a friend who is…uhhh…hunting these men," Artemis said, "She was wondering if she could enter the building." Rebecca's eyes grew wide and she jumped to her feet. This was the last straw. Artemis quickly followed, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Doctor?"

"That's what the little…thing said!" she shrieked, "Asked me if his associates could come in. Oh my God! You're working with them! You did this! I'll kill you Fowl! Just let her come right in! I don't care! I'll kill you both!" 

The Doctor had reached hysterics and was mumbling incoherent words and phrases. She had begun to take small paces around the room, running her fingers through her hair roughly. Butler had stopped searching for clues and was watching her spasm, along with Artemis, who kept his cool, collected manner.

"Butler," said the youth, "Perhaps we should remove Miss. Velez. Bring her to her office, would you?" 

Butler nodded and took a step forward. At that point, Rebecca stopped mumbling and glared daggers at the bodyguard.

"I will NOT be _removed _from my own lab!" she shouted at Butler, "Don't you dare lay a hand on me!" She turned to Artemis, "And you," her finger was pointed at him, barely an inch away from his nose, "You will explain all this right now! NOW!"

Artemis looked rather unabashed, even after having been yelled at. He looked at Butler, who looked back at him shrugging. Artemis rubbed his temples. He supposed he did owe the Doctor an explanation. If he did not inform her about what was going on, she was in danger of spontaneous combustion. Her face did look rather red.

"Very well Doctor," Artemis said calmly, "Everything will be explained in due time. Right now, you must excuse me for a moment. I must go and fetch my friend. Butler, take care of her."

Butler looked at the woman as Artemis stalked off to get Holly. Never, had he been yelled at by someone other than his father. Rebecca was eyeing his suspiciously. He noticed that fear flickered in her eyes as she saw the gun. Butler flushed.

"Sorry," he muttered, putting it back in his pocket, "I was just being careful."

She nodded curtly and turned away, leaning her palms against a table for support. However, Butler could have sworn he saw a hint of a grin grace her lips.

Outside, Holly Short was making great fun of drenching the back seat of the Bentley. She had been out in the pouring rain for a good five minutes before she realized that Butler had left the door unlocked. And now she and her sopping jumpsuit were relaxing on the leather seats. Artemis would not be happy. Oh well.

Suddenly, Holly's relaxation was interrupted by a tapping on the window. Artemis was standing outside the car, rain dripping through his raven hair. Holly smirked and opened the door. 

"Am I finally invited to the little party?" she joked. Artemis' face was a mask of seriousness.

"It's exactly what we thought," he muttered.

And for the second time in what seemed like mere minutes…

"D'arvit."

-----

_A/N: Alright, well I hope you guys liked it! Review and let me know. Cheers!  
_

_-Liv xoxo_


	6. Simply Electric

_A/N: Okay everyone! Here's the next chapter. I want to thank you all for the reviews and I know there were a few things that I overlooked in past chapters. Hopefully I can explain them in this chapter, for the most part. Anyways, here's the update. I hope you enjoy it._

-----

**Chapter Six; Simply Electric**

_London, England_

Back inside, Artemis stood nervously outside of Doctor Velez's laboratory. Holly was behind him, growing more impatient with each passing second.

"What are we waiting for?" she hissed, "Open the door!"

"I know," Artemis snapped, shooting a rather rude look at Holly, "But I have no idea how she'll react to seeing you. I mean, she was attacked by fairies. I doubt she'll welcome you with open arms." Artemis turned back to the door. He had neglected to mention the death threat, although he was relatively sure that that was a good idea. After a settling breath, he swung open the door and stepped inside, Holly following on his heels. He looked around the room and saw Rebecca now sitting on a long metallic table, swinging her legs back and forth, as if trying to keep herself occupied on something other than reality. Butler was leaning against the opposite wall, watching her intently. Artemis noted that he had put his gun away, yet his hand still hovered over his pocket, ready to duel. Once a bodyguard, always a bodyguard; age was just a number.

As he entered, both Butler and Rebecca looked up at him, and both reacted quite differently. Butler was nonchalant. He smiled slightly at Holly, but continued leaning. Rebecca, on the other hand, jumped up from the table and stalked over to Holly. They were barely inches apart. Rebecca just stared at the short female in front of her, wearing an expression of weariness. Holly, annoyed with being stared at, pulled her helmet off, fixing Rebecca with an icy glare. The Doctor took note of her pointed ears and blinked in disbelief. After taking a couple of steps back, she turned her eyes to Artemis.

"Let's talk over coffee," she mumbled lamely. Artemis nodded politely. He could understand the defeated tone in the doctor's voice. She had come to terms with the fact that tonight would be anything but normal. That wasn't to say she liked it, but there is only so much one person could do. Rebecca slowly stalked out of the lab, the three others following behind her. They passed the lobby and Rebecca's office, and entered a rather generously sized room at the end of the hallway. Inside was a long table, draped in a green tablecloth. There was a small stove and an even smaller fridge. Rebecca motioned for her three guests to take a seat and she busied herself with the coffeepot. Butler, ever the gentleman, approached the counter and offered to make the coffee himself. Rebecca nodded graciously and sat down at the table, beside Artemis, across from Holly. In a few moments, their coffee was ready and Butler brought four mugs to the table, along with a dozen sugar packets and just as many shots of cream. He took his seat next to Holly and the table fell into an even deeper silence. Finally, after a long sip of black coffee, Rebecca spoke.

"Please tell me this all some cruel practical joke."

"I'm afraid not," Artemis said solemnly, "Now, before we begin, perhaps it would be a good idea to give you a bit of a back story on…" 

"Artemis," Holly growled warningly, cutting the boy off. Artemis simply blinked at her in response.

"A back story on what?" Rebecca questioned.

"Holly is an elf," Artemis said. It was a sudden answer and certainly not what Rebecca had been expecting. She threw her head back and laughed, although her laughter was rather forced.

"An elf?" she chided, "I guess that makes the big guy Santa Clause or something." She continued on with her forced chuckles while rubbing her forehead in what Artemis guessed was disbelief. He got quite annoyed with her theatrics, and grabbed her wrist.

"Listen to me Doctor," he hissed, "This is no laughing matter! The fabric of time is about to be taken apart and stitched up again according to what the men from earlier want."

All trace of laughter disappeared from Rebecca's face. She straightened up and took off her glasses to rub her eyes.

"Alright," she placed her glasses back on the tip of her nose, "I'm listening Fowl."

"Excellent," Artemis smiled and turned to Holly, "Feel free to add in anything I miss."

Holly said nothing. Artemis could tell she was angry at him for having disclosed her species to a complete stranger. He couldn't really explain it, but he knew Rebecca was trustworthy. And besides, she could always be mindwiped if she proved otherwise.

"Doctor Velez," the boy continued, "Roughly three years ago, Holly and I were thrown into Limbo, via a time tunnel." 

"A time tunnel?" Rebecca echoed. Artemis sighed impatiently.

"Yes, yes, long story," he muttered, "The point is, we were accompanied by warlocks, who hold the secrets to time travel."

"The little man who opened the hole," she said, mostly to herself. Artemis looked at her sideways.

"What hole?"

"You first," Rebecca said, "I'm sure these stories tie together somehow."

"Right," Artemis continued, "Well, when we returned, which was no more than three weeks ago, we found that not everyone had wanted us to return. And earlier today, two warlocks were kidnapped. Holly and I feel that someone is trying to travel back through time, and stop us from arriving back in the present…or something to that effect."

Rebecca looked thoughtful. Artemis got the distinct feeling that she didn't believe a word of what he had just said. It was almost true. Rebecca felt her childhood coming to life again; stories about warlocks and elves. It was impossible. But it did account for many, if not all, of the strange things that had happened earlier that day.

"So why me?" she asked, after processing all that Artemis had told her, "What made them come here?"

"We know about the wormhole."

Three sets of amazed eyes turned to Holly, who had delivered the answer to Rebecca's question. Rebecca opened and closed her mouth many times, but no words came. It was as though she had lost the ability to speak.

"What wormhole?" Artemis asked, for he had only asked Foaly for the doctor's phone number, not a list of her achievements.

"She has a wormhole," Holly told him, "Trapped. That's what they were after. Who attacked you Doctor? What did they look like?"

"They were tiny," Rebecca said unsurely, as if she was still having a hard time believing that Holly was real, "And kind of burly. Well, two of them were. The other one was really scrawny and he looked like a scared kid. He saved my life. He opened it."

Holly receded into deep thought. Two gnomes, it had to be. And the other, who looked like a scared child. That had to be No1. But where was Qwan? Holly got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach for more than one reason. She opened her mouth to address Rebecca, but Artemis got there first.

"You have a wormhole?" he asked incredulously, finally registering the grand revelation, "Can I see it?" Possibilities were flying through the boy's mind at warped speed. He had not believed that it could be done, but perhaps tonight would be the night he discovered a second way to jump around time.

"Artemis," Butler piped up. His voice was low and ominous, like a warning, "I don't think that's a very good idea."

"Right Mud Boy," Holly agreed, "We have bigger fish to fry." Holly stood up and began to pace around the room.

"Rebecca," Artemis turned towards the doctor, "Could you explain your evening to us?"

"It started right after your phone call," Rebecca began, shooting Artemis a contemptuous gaze, "I went to lock up the lab and found myself being held at gunpoint by some horribly grotesque little man. He was terrible, threatening me and then he asked if his associates could come in."

"And what did you say?" Holly asked, watching as Rebecca's eyes welled with tears. The doctor did her best to brush them away.

"I said yes," she muttered, "What else could I do? There was a gun to my face. And then the little one I told you about came in with another, who looked like the guy with the gun. They knew about the wormhole, even though it's supposed to be a secret. And the little one…he…the little…he opened it. He opened the wormhole, right in front of my face."

There was no need to tell them that the three creatures had entered the wormhole; that was a conclusion obviously drawn. Rebecca was in tears now. Artemis placed a gentle arm around her shoulder, trying to be as comforting as possible. Even Holly felt a shred of pity for the stranger and approached her chair, resting a hand on her arm.

"I've been trying so hard," Rebecca sobbed, "And I couldn't do it. I don't know why. It's just…I…there's something miss…missing."

"It's alright," a strong voice whispered from behind Rebecca. Artemis and Holly looked up to see Butler standing over her, "We'll fix this."

"I…hope so," Rebecca choked back her tears and took off her glasses again, cleaning them on her white coat. A silence had fallen over the room as everyone looked at Rebecca, perhaps afraid that she would begin crying again.

"They weren't invited," Artemis said at last, "At least, one wasn't. He had no magic. But it could be anyone really. I bet thousands of fairies have lost their magic. Look at Mulch."

Holly looked up at him, her facial expression close to that of a deer caught in the headlights of a truck.

"Use your brain Artemis," she said, her voice barely audible, as though she were afraid to speak her theory in fear that it may come true, "A gnome who has lost his magic, disgraced by the fairies and wants to travel time. A gnome who wants to change the past and who knows an awful lot about the details of time travel."

"Sool," Artemis breathed, his heart skipping a beat.

"Sool," Holly repeated, nodded her head solemnly.

"Who's Sool?" Rebecca inquired, watching curiously through puffy eyes as Artemis and Holly came to an apparently devastating conclusion.

"Only the vilest stink worm ever to have graced our planet," Holly spat.

"And the one who attacked you," Artemis added. There was a sharp intake of breath on Rebecca's part.

"We need to find him," she gasped, suddenly more alert than she had been moments ago, "Who knows what kind of damage he could do in the time stream!"

"Surely just one thing," Artemis said, "He plans to change something involving the trip Holly and I took."

"But…but that means you could blink out of existence at any moment," Rebecca told him, wide-eyed.

"Potentially," Artemis nodded, "If he can navigate around the wormhole. Although I doubt he can, even with magical help. Magic and science are two different things, right Doctor?"

"I suppose," Rebecca said, not really understanding what Artemis was trying to tell her.

"We need to get through the wormhole Doctor," Artemis said firmly, "And who better to guide us then the woman who managed to catch it."

"That's a great plan Artemis," Rebecca said quietly, "But there's just one problem. I don't know how to open it."

-----

_Somewhere in time_

Blue. There was blue everywhere. From where No1 was standing, he could see various distinct shades of blue, but as he stared off into the distance all the shades of blue seemed to merge into one. He could see ghostly images surrounding him, some he recognized, and some he did not. Immediately to his left, he saw a ghostly projection of Qwan being killed. No1 shuddered and glared at the two gnomes beside him, one whom he recognized as Ark Sool, ex-Commander of the LEP. His thoughts wandered back to earlier that day.

He had been knocked unconscious by some unknown means and had woken up hours later, chained to a wall, Qwan opposite of him. Both warlocks tried to free themselves, blasting the chains with various bits of strong magic, but nothing seemed to work. They were still trapped, still prisoners. It seemed that the chains absorbed their magical energy. It was then that the gnomes had entered and brutally killed Qwan, after asking about the time tunnel. No1 knew, at that point, exactly what they wanted. He also knew that the moment the chains came off, he would murder the devious creatures. Yes, murder, kill, destroy, annihilate. Whichever sounded better the moment he performed such an act. But there was another thought on No1's mind; something other than revenge.

He had never heard of Rebecca Velez, but he somehow knew, once they reached the lab, that he would soon be hurtling through time again. And for some strange reason that thrilled him. During his two weeks in Haven, No1 had not been able to find the demoness with the strange markings. It upset him greatly that she was nowhere to be found. But perhaps that could change, with a little help of course.

The gnomes weren't the only creatures who wished to alter time. And so No1, still bound by the anti-magic chains used in prisons, began to plot something other than murder. He began to plot how to change history. After all, the gnomes could be disposed of at a different time.

Speaking of gnomes, the two who had accompanied, or rather dragged, No1 to London now stood beside the warlock, gazing out over the vast blue landscape that had greeted them on the other side of the wormhole.

"Where do we go?" asked Sool, "What is this place?"

"I don't know boss," said the other gnome, known only as Mammoth. He nudged No1 with his boot, "Where to Imp?"

No1 looked up at him angrily. "I don't know," he said, "No idea, not the foggiest, beat's me." And it was completely true. This was nothing like a time tunnel.

"Shut up already," Sool hissed, looking from left to right. To his left he saw a ghostly image of himself pointing a gun at the human doctor. Sool may not have been extremely intelligent, but he could put two and two together.

"This way," he shouted, pointing to the left, "This is the past."

The three set off in a left direction, each walking along separate path, towards the past. Only bad could possibly come of this.

-----

_London, England_

"What do you mean, you don't know?" Artemis asked, shocked at how Doctor Velez had responded to his plan.

"I mean exactly what I said," Rebecca snapped.

"How'd you open it before?" Holly asked, "How'd you trap it?"

"I don't know," Rebecca repeated, "Not exactly anyways. I mean, I was working on a chamber that slowed down the speed of light. I figured that if I could slow down light, then I could possibly see a wormhole if it opened in the vicinity. The chamber was the round thing you saw back in the lab, by the way. Anyways, it's constructed to trap energy, because that's all a wormhole really is. So one night I was working on it and after attaching the final wire, when the thing was finally complete, a huge blue hole opened in thin air. It was massive. I wanted to get through to it, so I dropped the wire. The connection was broken, and the wormhole escaped. Or so I thought. After tonight, I'm not sure."

"No, it hadn't disappeared," Artemis said, "It was simply not being manipulated. The wires are electrical, right?"

"Yes," Rebecca nodded, half-hoping that Artemis could give her the answers she needed, "Over three thousand volts, extremely dangerous when active."

"They're not always active?" 

"No, only when the sides of the supposed wormhole run against them, trying to escape. The energy from the wires is transferred to the hole, and it's knocked back, still trapped. But I haven't been able to open it again. There's a piece of the puzzle missing. Something I don't remember about that night."

"Interesting," Artemis mused aloud, "Perhaps you are not properly manipulating the energy." He was silent for a moment before a large smile plastered itself on his face.

"Doctor," he continued, "What was the weather like the night you saw the wormhole?"

"I don't know," she said, looking at Artemis as though he was crazy, "Why would that even matter?"

"Because," Artemis smirked, "Manipulated energy is the best kind. Was there lightning by any chance?"

Rebecca thought long and hard about the night when she had finished what she believed to be her greatest experiment. She recalled driving home in the pouring rain, thinking of Danny. She remembered the next day, on the news, hearing about numerous car accidents due to the rain. She remembered the sizzling power chords just outside her building, right before the power was lost. Realization dawned on her face.

"Yes, there was!" Rebecca exclaimed, "I can't believe it Fowl! You're a genius!"

"So I've heard," Artemis chuckled. Holly and Butler looked rather confused at the entire scientific scenario, so Artemis decided to explain.

"The lightning must have hit a power line and charged the power to the lab to a greater amount than Rebecca had ever believed possible. The extra energy mixed with the shock of three thousand volts, finally being connected, caused the wormhole to be blown wide open. As soon as the connection was broken, the wormhole disappeared." 

"Amazing," Holly mumbled.

"It was," Rebecca nodded, "We have to open it again!" 

"How?" Holly asked, "The clouds outside are just rain clouds. No storms tonight."

"Well then," Artemis smirked, "Perhaps something else." He fixed the light switch with a plotting stare. Artemis Fowl had a few tricks up his sleeve, and Holly was sure that most of them were rather…_electrifying._

-----

_A/N: Hope you liked it. I think I may have been too brief with the description of Rebecca's experiment, but it's all I could think of. Please review and let me know what you think. Thank you so much! Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	7. Melted Time

_A/N; Again, I want to thank all my readers. You're all wonderful and you're the reason I enjoy writing these stories so much. Now, a little note, more important than the ones I usually give out. I will be going on vacation for the next week, so I won't be able to update. I'll try to update soon after I get back, even though I start school the next day. I don't think school will slow me down much anyways. Anyways, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Seven; Melted Time**

_London, England_

"I have a plan," Artemis said devilishly. He turned to Doctor Velez, whose expression was torn between mildly happy and mildly sceptical. "Doctor, would you please lead us to the labs. I will need a visual to explain." Rebecca nodded and led the way out of the room. Of course, Fowl could have done so himself, as he knew where everything was located. She felt a very faint shred of admiration for the boy. He understood that her lab was important, her possession, and he respected that. As they left the kitchen, Holly and Artemis slowed a pace and brought up the rear.

"Time is not something we should fool around with again," Holly whispered, hoping that Artemis could still hear her, even with the height difference. Apparently, he could, as he looked down, a sad smile on his lips.

"I know the risks Holly," he whispered back, "This time I won't mess up. Trust me?"

"Of course," Holly grinned up at the genius, "And if you're wrong, I'll beat some common sense into you." Before Artemis could reply, the group had reached the lab, and Holly had strolled right through to doors, leaving Artemis to wander in himself, shaking his head.

"Alright Fowl," Rebecca said as the group gathered around her containment field, "Explain." Artemis took note of how her tone had changed. It was no longer as hostile as when they had first sat down for coffee mere minutes ago. She seemed hopeful that Artemis was the silver lining of the dark clouded day she had been having. Artemis was keen not to disappoint her. The teenager cleared his throat and took a step towards the containment field, running his fingers over the smooth copper tubes. He glanced at the faces of his companions, each etched with a specific worry.

"Assuming our theory is correct, then electricity opened the wormhole once," Artemis began, "And there is no doubt that it can be opened again, using the same means. As Holly has told us, there is no storm on the immediate horizon. But lightning is not the only form of electricity."

He paused for a moment, casting a glance towards Rebecca, searching for a reaction, wondering if she would be able to guess the end to his marvellous plan. Her nose wrinkled as she looked back at him, a tiny crease of confusion on her forehead.

"But there's not nearly enough electricity running through this building to equal the power of a lightning bolt," Rebecca told the group, "We'd need to literally steal electricity from at least three other buildings."

Artemis smirked, "That's exactly what I intend to do." The boy was perfectly well aware that there were six eyes all fixed on him with vast disbelief.

"You'd have to rewire the entire complex," Holly said, "You'll fry your brain, and Frond knows we'll need that later."

"Au contraire Captain, I will simply have to rewire the three buildings which I intend to…borrow from." As he spoke, Artemis' smirk turned into an all-knowing smile. Holly could tell he was enjoying the notion of another adventure. She hoped this one would turn out better than the last. The room had fallen silent, only the slight pitter-patter of rain against the roof making audible noise.

"It could work," Rebecca finally said, an air of uncertainty still in her voice, "If we do it properly. And…"

"And we don't have a better plan," Holly interrupted her, "So we'll go for it. Every second wasted is another second Sool and his cronies could kill our past selves."

"Right," Artemis nodded, "Shall we begin?" The three others nodded their expressions like stone. "Very well," the young man continued, "Holly, I'll need your helmet."

Holly raised an eyebrow at him as she placed a hand on either side of her helmet, slowing tugging it off. Artemis thanked her, ignoring the scepticism of her facial expression, and took the helmet in his own hands.

"Okay, Butler and I will go outside and rewire the wires in the closest electrical pole. Rebecca, I'm assuming your neighbours have all gone home for the evening." Rebecca nodded shortly and Artemis smiled, pulling a thin grey cell phone from his jacket pocket. He handed it to Holly.

"You take this," Artemis told her, "And go out to the back of the building. When Butler and I manage to rewire the block, you will have only moments to hit the breaker and send the energy into this building. The moment this phone starts vibrating you pull the breaker down."

"Right," Holly muttered, "Five second window. No problem, no pressure." Artemis did not miss the blatant sarcasm in her voice, but he chose to pass it off with a patronizing smile as he turned back to Doctor Velez, ready to give out the final position of the plan.

"As for you Doctor, you stay in here, ready to connect the wires when the time is right. That'll be around…"

"The very moment the power surges," Rebecca cut Artemis' explanation short, "I know."

"Excellent," Artemis said, "Let's get going." He turned on his heel to exit the room, followed by Butler and Holly.

"Wait!" Rebecca cried, "You'll need these." The three, who were already halfway out the door, turned back to look at the doctor, who had begun rummaging around the surface of a large wooden table laden with uncountable amounts of papers. In moments she produced two pairs of thick gloves. Artemis nodded his approval.

"Good thinking Doctor," he said, "I had almost overlooked that, although they are doubtlessly an extra precaution."

"For Holly and I, yes," Rebecca replied, "But you and Butler may very well be dealing with unprotected wires." She threw a pair at the ex-manservant, who caught them in one swift motion.

"One pair?" Artemis asked. Rebecca shot him a dirty look and nodded curtly.

"It's all I can find right now. Take one glove each. Apparently we have no time to waste." The doctor took one glove and, after placing it on her right hand, tossed the other to Holly. Butler and Artemis followed their example and split their gloves.

"Okay," Rebecca said, taking a deep breath, "Go!"

Holly, Artemis, and Butler rushed out of the room, towards the front door. As they quickly crossed the lobby, Holly turned to look up at Artemis, who was still gripping her helmet.

"Can I ask why you needed that?"

Artemis chuckled and looked down at his fairy friend with a grin stretching from ear to ear. Holly couldn't help but to smile at the look she was so unaccustomed to.

"I need this to contact you," Artemis told the elf. Holly's eyes narrowed ever so slightly.

"Why don't you take the cell phone then?"

"This is cooler."

-----

_Somewhere in time_

Sool had not expected this. He had not counted on the inside of the wormhole to be so complex. The gnome had foolishly thought the 'jump in, jump out' policy would apply. Unfortunately for him, this was not the case. He and his companions continued walking down their three separate paths, past ghostly images of themselves. The further they travelled, the more frustrated Sool became. He had taken to grinding his teeth rather loudly, much to the displeasure of No1.

After a painstakingly long fifteen minutes of dragging his feet through time, Sool could no longer take it. He needed to release his rage on someone. Seeing as how Mammoth, even under his instruction, would crush him if angered, Sool turned his attention to No1, opening his mouth to yell at the tiny creature. However, as soon as his eyes met the vicinity in which No1 stood, nothing but a tiny squeak was emitted from Sool's mouth. An evil grin spread across his face as he stopped dead in his tracks.

There was a very thin blue line stretching out from where No1 stood and hovering over said line was a translucent image of Holly Short, laughing and smiling, without a care in the world. A similar image of No1 stood beside her. Sool's grin grew wider. He had reached proverbial enlightenment.

"Together," he muttered, "Short and Fowl are unstoppable. There's only one way to make sure they never succeed. Come on, follow this way!" Sool set off quickly down the thin path that led to the ghostly image of Holly, his grin growing wider with every step. No1 got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Sool did not wish to change anything as it had happened in Hybras. No, he planned to go further back than that. And that, No1 reasoned, was extremely bad. What if he couldn't stop Sool before he succeeded? That would mean that he himself would cease to exist. If Holly and Artemis weren't around to save the island from crumbling, then the entire existence of the demons was in jeopardy. And surely that was what Sool had wanted all along.

And each step No1 took, down what he had no idea was Holly Short's worldline, the immense nausea he felt got worse. He hoped, with every fibre in his body, that Holly and Artemis would find Sool and stop him before he had his way with time.

-----

_London, England_

Butler had ripped the safety hatch clean off the nearest electrical pole and was now waiting, fairy helmet in hand, for Artemis' signal. The boy, who was currently at work with a vast array of colourful wires, had programmed his cell phone number to Holly's helmet. All Butler had to do was say 'Artemis' and he would be in instant contact with Holly. As he waited, Butler watched his young companion apprehensively. One look at the jumble of wires and Butler had not hesitated to give Artemis his own glove.

Artemis, both hands encased in large, cushioned gloves, made quick work of the wires. Majority were protected, so the teenager had to use wire cutters, taken from Doctor Velez's work table. He read the tiny labels that indicated which wires powered which buildings and made thin incisions where necessary. After mere moments of toil, Artemis held three separate wires in his gloves, each live at the tip. He turned to Butler.

"Now," he whispered, his voice tight with anticipation. He heard Butler say his name to the helmet, waited three seconds for Holly to receive, and joined the wires together at the tips, hoping that Holly had gotten the signal. If not, there was a chance of severe electrocution.

-----

Fortunately for Artemis, the Captain had been waiting, her hand on the breaker, ready to push. Holly had not moved a muscle in minutes, afraid that if she did, she would miss Artemis' signal. She had placed the cell phone in the breast pocket of her jumpsuit, knowing she would feel it the moment it began to vibrate.

Her breathing was tense with nerves and her palms were sweaty, although she dare not move them away from the switch. _Every second counts_, she told herself, over and over again.

It seemed like an eternity before the cell phone began to vibrate softly in her pocket. Holly took one split second to tighten her grip, before she pushed down on the breaker switch, with all her might, placing her entire body mass against the metal lever. She took brief note that as she did so; the building beside her lit up like a Christmas tree and then turned back to an inky black colour. The power surge. Hopefully Doctor Velez had been ready.

-----

Rebecca was left alone inside, chewing on her bottom lip. If this worked, if Fowl's plan actually opened the wormhole she wasn't sure if she'd hug him or hit him. However, she didn't give much thought to that. A power surge lasted all of about three seconds. If she missed it, then she would have missed her potential last chance to see Danny again. And so, she waited with a red wrapped copper wire in her hand, ready for connection. All she would have to do was hold the wire up to the connecting tube as soon as the power surged. Fowl was recreating his own lighting storm. Ingenious, if not extremely dangerous. Her eyes were staring, unblinkingly at the ceiling, waiting for the first flicker of light to grace the bulbs above her head.

Finally it came, a small hint of light crawling along the bulb to her immediate left. And all of a sudden, blinding light blast into the room. Rebecca shoved the copper wire into position, her eyes closed tight in retaliation to the light. No more than three seconds later, the lights were extinguished and Rebecca slowly opened her eyes, afraid that she would see nothing, afraid that she had not connected in time. As soon as her eyes were fully open she realized that the room was completely dark again, save for one large, pulsing blue orb in front of her.

"Oh my…" Her voice caught in her throat. Her eyes blinked several times in disbelief. Her hands had begun to shake terribly, but she was careful not to break the connection. She heard footsteps thundering down the hall and knew that Artemis and his friends were coming to see if the plan had been successful.

"Doctor," she heard Artemis shout as he entered the room. She heard nothing else out of his mouth though. He had, without a doubt, seen the wormhole. Rebecca slowly turned to face her newfound allies, still careful to hold the copper wire in place. She caught sight of their faces, each holding an expression of awe.

"Amazing," Butler breathed. Rebecca nodded slowly; turning her head back to the wormhole making sure it was still there. Her heart, pounding rapidly against her chest was ready to burst. Artemis took a step forwards, towards the blue light, an adventurous smile on his lips.

"Shall we?" he asked, motioning towards the vivid blue center of the hole. Holly looked uncertain.

"I don't know Mud Boy," she mumbled, "What if we get lost?"

"I'm sure that won't happen if Doctor Velez joins us," Artemis replied, his confident tone never wavering. Rebecca nearly jumped up in anticipation of exploring the wormhole. Thankfully she stopped herself before the copper connection was broken. Artemis was looking at her expectantly. She couldn't help but to roll her eyes.

"Of course I'm coming Fowl."

Artemis smiled and nodded towards Butler, who looked rather unhappy. Butler walked over to Rebecca and carefully took the wire from her hands as she stood up and brushed off her knees.

"Thank you," she said graciously, squeezing Butler's massive shoulder. Butler gave a polite smile before turning his attention to Artemis.

"I would have liked to come with you this time," said the Eurasian man, "Just in case."

"I promise this time I'll return properly," Artemis said, his voice unusually compassionate. He looked at the doctor with a raised eyebrow, urging her to offer some sort of support.

"I'll make sure of it," Rebecca said in an amazingly convincing voice, "The wormhole is rather easy to navigate if you know what you're doing. And something tells me you'll never be far behind." 

With that, she stepped around the man and into the wormhole, Artemis, waving one last time to his friend, followed. Holly glanced back at Butler.

"Be careful," he told her. Holly grinned and tapped the buzz baton on her waist.

"Artemis is in big trouble if he makes another mistake," she laughed, letting herself become consumed in the blue light.

Butler grinned as the last of Holly disappeared. He was alone now, hoping to God that this time, everything would go according to plan.

-----

On the other side of the wormhole, Rebecca was in awe. This was more than anything she had ever dreamt of. They seemed to be in a vortex of swirling blue colours. It was strangely beautiful. Artemis stood beside her, Holly beside him.

"So Doctor," Artemis spoke casually, "A lesson perhaps?"

"Right," Rebecca nodded. She looked down and was pleased to find that beneath her feet there was a solid blue line, as was the case for both Artemis and Holly.

"You see those?" she asked, pointing to what would be considered the ground if there were any ground in space. The other two, after a brief glance downwards nodded. "Those," Rebecca continued, "Are worldlines. They're basically the plot of our life. Behind us is the past, in front the future. It's simple really. We each have a separate worldline, but as you can see they're very close together. That's because we're all in the same time and space right now."

"Interesting," Artemis mused, "I suppose we begin by turning around then." Rebecca nodded and the trio turned on their heels, glaring out at the past. They all caught sight of translucent figures of themselves; Artemis' meeting with Rebecca earlier that day, Holly's visit to the demon reserve.

"Those," Rebecca pointed, "Act as our timelines. The further into the past we travel, the less we'll see. Soon we'll start seeing only important events."

"Okay," Holly said, "But what about Sool? I mean, if he only has access to his worldline how much could he possibly change our past? He can only change his own, which probably just means he'll make himself Commander again."

"That would be lovely if it were true," Rebecca said, "But Sool does have access any worldline of any person he has every come in contact with. See this one?" She bent closer to the ground and pointed to a very faint line running directly below Artemis'.

"Is that Butler's?" asked the boy. Rebecca nodded.

"We could access it anytime we wanted to," she said, "Because we have come into contact with him."

"D'arvit," swore Holly, "We better hurry up."

"Where do you think he'll start?" asked Rebecca.

"He'll stop us coming back from Hybras," Holly muttered darkly, "He'll mess up the magic circle, just like Abbot almost did."

"We won't allow him to do that," Artemis said, "Come on." The three began to walk down their worldlines, Rebecca taking in all the sights she could. Deep down, she wished she had brought a camera or something. After a few moments, Artemis stopped. Rebecca and Holly looked at him quizzically.

"How is this going to work?" he asked, "Rebecca was living in normal time. Our couple of days was her three years."

"It won't make a difference," Rebecca answered, "Your worldlines will just have accelerated memories. The travel time will only be your couple of days, so we should be there relatively soon." They continued forward and after only a few minutes, Artemis saw the ghostly image of the battle they had once fought against the demons.

"We're here," announced Holly, who had apparently noticed the same thing, "Now how do we get in and stop Sool?"

"Energy," Artemis said, "Wormholes are rarer on this side of the time stream, right Rebecca?"

"Yes, but I see your point. A good blast of energy should tear a hole right through the worldline and let us through. Time will heal itself."

"Energy," Artemis repeated, this time staring pointedly at Holly. She took the hint, a large smirk growing on her lips. Her hand snaked down to her waist and pulled the Neutrino of her belt. She aimed carefully at the blue line beneath Artemis' feet and squeezed the trigger. Time and space literally melted.

It's a pity that Hybras was not where Sool intended to strike.

-----

_A/N; Alright, well I hope you liked that. Perhaps it was a bit too vague, but more will be explained in later chapters. Reviews are appreciated as you all know. Thanks for reading. Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo _


	8. A Living Death

_A/N: Oh wow, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and who has made me smile along the course of this story. You all completely have my heart. Again, sorry the update took so long. As I said before, I was on vacation. And then I got sick. However, life is starting to become normal once more, thank heavens, and so I'll be updating more often than every two weeks. Also, for those of you who care, there are two new one-shot stories in the works, along with a crossover, so keep your eyes open. Here's the update! Enjoy!_

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**Chapter Eight; A Living Death**

The moment Doctor Velez felt solid ground beneath her feet her eyes shot open and she looked upwards, where half a tiny body was protruding from a shimmering blue line. Moments later, Holly Short was beside her, Artemis not far behind. As the teenager travelled between two different points in time, a thought struck Rebecca.

"Don't move Fowl," she shouted up at him. Immediately, Artemis' legs stopped wiggling. He was suspended in two different times. Holly shot the doctor a curious look.

"If we all come through, the hole will close and we'll be stuck here forever," Rebecca explained, "We have no way to open a wormhole here, I mean, we barely did it before, even with all the right resources. We need something to keep the worldline open."

Holly thought about the options for a moment, twirling her Neutrino through her fingers.

"Wait," she held out the gun towards Rebecca, "Will I need this?" The Doctor looked thoughtful for a moment, apparently comparing some sort of scenarios, before shaking her head. A ghost of a grin flickered across Holly's face.

"How much time will I have?" asked the elf. Rebecca began muttering calculations under her breath, random numbers and words that made little to no sense to Holly. After a few brief moments she looked up at Artemis, still dangling patiently in the ceiling.

"I'd say about seven seconds," she mumbled nervously. Holly nodded, her lips a grim slash of determination. More pressure.

"Okay," Rebecca took a deep breath and spoke to the legs, "Let go Artemis!"

Artemis, who had begun to think he would be stuck between times forever, let himself fall through the hole in the worldline, landing ungracefully of the floor of Hybras. Before he could even register what was happening, Holly had thrown her Neutrino at the rapidly closing hole. One second too late, and the gun wouldn't make it. One second too soon and the weapon would pass right through. Proper timing was everything, and thankfully Captain Short had a lot of that. Or maybe it was simply luck. It didn't really matter though, as she had gotten the gun lodged in the worldline, securing the trio a way out of Hybras when the need arose. Artemis quickly regained his composure and stood, brushing the dirt off his dress pants. He looked at Holly, smiling affectionately.

"Excellent work," he said, turning from the elf to the doctor, "The both of you. Although, it took you long enough."

Holly grinned and punched Artemis playfully in the shoulder. "You're just lucky we didn't leave you up there as a plug," she joked.

"I suppose," Artemis chuckled, "So as I was _hanging out_ did you notice anything strange?"

"One," Holly retorted, "That was a horrible joke. And two, I was kind of preoccupied, what with the whole gun throwing thing."

Artemis opened his mouth to reply, but Rebecca beat him to it. She was staring off into the distance, her eyes wide and her mouth open in awe.

"What are those things?" Her hand waved towards the red horizon. Artemis and Holly narrowed their eyes to see whatever Rebecca was seeing, although they both had a feeling of what it was.

"Those are demons," Artemis said, "Mean little creatures."

"Little?" Rebecca echoed disbelievingly, "We stay away from those. We stay away from all of this."

"What do you mean?" Holly asked, "We have to make sure everything is okay, that everything stays the way it should."

"Exactly," Rebecca said, her voice barely above a whisper, as if she were afraid the demons would hear and attack, "We can't touch anything, not unless we absolutely must." As she spoke, Rebecca's mind drifted to Danny. Here she was, spouting time-travelling morality to Fowl and his fairy friend, but what would she do when visiting her own past? She had to bring Danny back to life, the only reason she had ever wanted to discover the secret of time. But was that the correct choice to make? Before Rebecca could immerse herself in a heated mental debate, she felt tugging on her arm.

"Come on," Holly hissed, "We're going to get closer." Doctor Velez wasn't sure how to react. Half of her was absolutely terrified of being within the range of some unknown mythical creature, while the other half was completely elated in the name of science. And so, the doctor allowed herself to be dragged through dusty craters, her eyes absorbing all possible sights. Hybras seemed to be, in her opinion, a dirty version of the moon.

She noted, with amazement, the fact that time was completely out of order in Hybras. Everything was happening so fast, only to be thrown into the past as if nothing but a memory. She vaguely wondered why she and her two companions weren't affected. That was definitely a question to be answered later. The present moment was much too stressful for full thoughts to form.

Finally, the dragging stopped, and the trio crouched together behind a rather large boulder. Rebecca peeked around the side curiously and what she saw amazed her. There was a slightly younger Artemis, bent low over some sort of bomb, muttering numbers under his breath. Beside him were two odd looking creatures, one of which Rebecca recognized as the 'imp' who had saved her life earlier that evening, or from where she was now, a few years down the road. In the distance, she noticed her elfin companion aiming at the ugliest life form she had ever come across. And suddenly, without any warning, the sound of a blade cutting through delicate flesh echoed through Rebecca's ears. She cringed and gasped, all at once, as she realized that Holly had been stabbed in the chest.

For what seemed like forever, Rebecca sat in shocked silence, watching as Holly hit the floor, dust rising around her. She watched as the fire slowly flickered away from Holly's eyes, not even noticing she had tears in her own.

Rebecca nearly jumped as she felt a soft hand squeeze her shoulder. She turned her watery gaze behind her and noticed that Holly was the one who had grabbed her. Both she and Artemis were looking at her with small, sorrowful smiles.

"Are you alright?" Artemis asked gently, "It would have probably been best if you didn't see that."

"I…I'm fine," Rebecca stammered out, "But you," her eyes fell upon Holly, "You…died."

Holly nodded grimly and Rebecca got the distinct feeling that there was something bothering her. Something other than the fact that she had just witnessed her own death replayed.

"How are you…?" her voice trailed off. Holly managed to smile softly again.

"Artemis saved me," she said, turning to the taller boy and winking. Artemis seemed to flush as he grinned. But a moment later, his expression was completely serious again. He stared right at Rebecca.

"We have another problem," he said with a slight hint of anger.

"Oh no," Rebecca frowned, "What?"

"Sool isn't here," Holly explained, "Everything is as it should be. Nothing strange."

Rebecca would have made a sarcastic remark about how Hybras was anything but normal, but she figured that now was not a good time. Instead, she offered a suggestion, in what she hoped was a helpful tone.

"Maybe he's hiding."

"If only," Artemis sighed, "But look." He pointed off into the distance and Rebecca followed the movement of his hand. There was a circle of the oddest assortment of people the Doctor had ever seen.

"It's our time circle," Holly explained, as if reading Rebecca's thoughts, "We're about to leave and fly back into the present, or the future…or whatever you're supposed to call it here."

"Fascinating," Rebecca breathed, watching the circle with wonder.

"It is," Artemis agreed with a nod, "But if Sool wanted to get us here, he would have already acted."

"So he's not here," Holly finished glumly. Much to the surprise if Artemis and Holly, Rebecca looked close to happy.

"Then let's get out of here," the doctor suggested, "We're wasting time. And besides, this place creeps me out."

Neither elf nor human could argue with that logic. As inconspicuously as possible, the trio travelled back around the massive craters and across the barren landscape, nearing the small, pulsing blue light that they had left as their exit.

"Okay," Holly instructed, "Lift me up there. I'll slip through the hole and keep it open for the two of you." Artemis and Rebecca did as they were told, each hoisting Holly skyward. The elf reached for her handgun, and as soon as she grabbed it, tumbled through the hole onto the other side of the worldline. Immediately, she held out her hand so that the hole would not close. Artemis went back up first, followed carefully by Rebecca. It was quite the effort. Once all three were safely evacuated from Hybras, the worldline sealed itself, hiding the demon island from any unwanted time travellers.

Artemis, Holly, and Rebecca sat on the vivid blue path, collecting their thoughts. How could they have been wrong? Where was Sool truly going to meddle in time? Would they be able to stop him?

"Maybe," Artemis spoke up, "He's in Haven? Maybe he'll try to make it so that he's still the Commander and somehow the demons get wiped out."

"No," Rebecca mused, "I don't think that's it." Holly looked at her sideways.

"Do you even have any idea what he was just talking about?"

"You mean Haven and stuff?" Rebecca inquired, "No, not a clue. But if Sool succeeded in the plan Artemis mentioned then you two wouldn't be here right now. You'd be wiped out with the demons."

Holly, along with Artemis, took a moment to mull that over. Artemis' theory was logical, but what Rebecca had said made just as much sense. So maybe Sool didn't want to conquer the demons. Maybe he had other plans.

"Sool knows nothing else about us though," Artemis muttered, "He wouldn't know where else to…oh."

An idea had just struck Artemis and he was stunned he hadn't thought of it before. Quickly, he turned towards Holly, his brow wrinkled with fear. Holly didn't like his expression one bit.

"Artemis," she said slowly and carefully, "What is 'oh' supposed to mean?"

"Think about it Holly," the teenager spoke his words quickly, a nervous tone embedded in his speech, "Sool wouldn't want Opal Koboi or Jon Spiro running around with control over the fairies, right?"

"Right," Holly agreed, "But how…"

"So he won't strike there. Not while we're friends. Not while we're saving Haven. He won't think. He'll go before all that, not realizing that he'll destroy half the world along the way."

"Oh Frond," Holly muttered, finally realized what Artemis was saying. Sool didn't want to destroy Artemis and Holly, not directly anyways. He wanted to change the past so that they had never met, never formed an alliance.

"What's going on?" Rebecca asked, looking as worried as Holly felt.

"We'll explain on the way," Artemis said, quickly getting to his feet, "Come on!"

Holly and Rebecca pulled themselves up and stared at Artemis.

"Where to?" Rebecca asked. Artemis glanced sharply at Holly, who gulped audibly. She hopped back onto her own worldline.

"This way," she said, taking off at a brisk run down the blue road. Artemis and Rebecca ran after her, Rebecca really wishing she hadn't worn heels to work that day.

-----

_A/N: Well, I know that was shorter than my chapters usually are, but I promise the next one will be longer. This was almost like a filler, to get back into the plot. The next one is a major plot developer. So please let me know what you thought. Thank you so much. Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	9. An Unfixable Error

_A/N: I love you all! Thanks for all the awesome reviews! So here's the next chapter. To tell you the truth, I was a bit unsure about this chapter. It was a difficult decision to choose the ending, but I won't tell you much else. Read onwards friends! And enjoy!_

_This chapter is dedicated to Nikki, a very good friend. I hope she decides to join us again very soon._

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**Chapter Nine; An Unfixable Error **

At a young age, children are often taught that it is bad to lose your temper. At the moment, Ark Sool greatly disagreed. For exactly twenty-seven minutes he had been standing in the midst of blue lines, pacing the same three feet over and over again, getting very annoyed with the fact that he had no way of accessing the past. He had taken out his frustration by yelling at Mammoth and No1 about various things, most of which made absolutely no sense. But, after a while, yelling stopped having any effect whatsoever. And, deeply frustrated, the shamed commander drew his pistol, wanting to take his frustration out on the trigger and blast something. The something he happened to blast was the blue line beneath his feet; the worldline of Holly Short.

Much to his surprise, not to mention pleasure, the blue began to melt away, leaving a hole into the past. It was then that Ark Sool realized just how useful short tempers were.

He quickly grabbed Mammoth and No1, dragging them into the hole, not noticing that time closed right behind them. The three fell with a thud onto the grassy ground under a moonlit sky. There was nothing in sight, save lots of grass and a rather large oak tree. Sool smiled an evil smile, pushing his companions into the tall grass so they could remain hidden.

"Where are we boss?" asked Mammoth in what would never be considered a stealthy voice. Sool rolled his eyes and back-handed Mammoth's shoulder, not that the blow did much damage.

"Shut up idiot," hissed Sool, "We're trying to remain undetected." Then he turned to No1, who seemed very distracted, "And you imp. If you make so much as one sound I won't hesitate to kill you."

No1 opened his mouth to call Sool an unprintable name, but it seemed as though the gnome had lost interest in the warlock. He was now focused on the sound of an approaching jeep.

-----

Sweating and panting, Artemis, Holly, and Rebecca arrived at their destination. Smoky images of a stone-faced youth and a frightened fairy danced around the three. Rebecca watched them with fascination, taking note of how both strange the scenario was. So Artemis had met Holly through a kidnapping. That was potentially the most interesting relationship she had ever heard of. Artemis must have noticed her staring at the translucent scene because his voice interrupted her thoughts.

"I've changed, you know."

Rebecca looked at him sideways, as if debating her response. She seemed to want to make a scathing remark, but was suppressing it. After a brief indecision, she smiled softly.

"I certainly hope so. Are we ready?" She looked from Artemis, who had fallen silent, to Holly, who looked close to sick.

"I guess so," muttered the Irish teenager. He glanced at Holly, who caught his eye and grinned. Rebecca's eyes grew for a brief moment, before she became extremely interested in a tiny blue speck on the floor, which isn't saying much, and bent down to examine it. Holly chuckled and shook her head as Artemis smirked.

"This is weird," Holly sighed, and suddenly the mood seemed so much more serious. Artemis pursed his lips, unsure of what to say.

"I can't believe we're here again," the elf continued, "It seems like so long ago."

"It was," Artemis replied, "A really long time ago."

"Yeah, I guess," Holly shrugged, "Things might get weird in there."

"It's dangerous, what we're doing."

"I know," grinned Holly, "But since when do we play it safe?"

"Good point," Artemis chuckled, "Well…"

His words were interrupted by the air being squeezed out of his lungs due to a giant bear hug from Holly. After the initial shock of such a sudden display of affection, not unlike the kiss he had received after the Hybras adventure, Artemis smiled contentedly, returning the hug. Perhaps they would have stood there for hours if Rebecca had not cleared her throat loudly, motioning to the worldline beneath their feet. The two broke apart, both blushing, and Holly pulled out her Neutrino.

After a deep, calming breath, she fired. And with a vague sense of déjà vu, the trio hopped through the hole, Holly making sure to leave an opening for a quick exit. They landed in the beautiful Irish countryside, amongst green grass darkened by the night. A proud, majestic oak tree stood in the distance, in the middle of a clearing.

"That's where we're headed," Artemis muttered to Rebecca, who nodded and began to creep through the grass. She couldn't understand why, but this place looked so undisturbed it seemed like a crime to make noise.

As they neared the oak tree, the trio took shelter behind a smaller pine. Rebecca noticed that both her companions were staring unblinkingly at the large oak. She adjusted her glasses and followed their gaze. She still saw nothing but a tree. The doctor turned to Artemis.

"Maybe we should be looking for Sool, not a tree," she suggested.

"But the tree is most likely where he'll try to change something," Holly piped up. Rebecca turned her focus to the elf.

"Our last most likely theory didn't pan out very well. And if he does attack at the tree it'll be too late to change what he's done."

Artemis seemed to muse over the doctor's logic for a couple of moments before nodding.

"She's right," he said, "Holly, why don't you shield and fly around, see if you notice anything peculiar." It was then that a loud engine could be heard coming down the road.

"Better hurry then," Artemis murmured; his attention in the distance somewhere.

"Stupid Mud Boy," Holly muttered before she disappeared from view. Rebecca was so stunned she grabbed Artemis by the shoulder.

"Where the hell did she go?"

"Hmm?" Artemis answered absentmindedly, "Oh, she shielded, invisible to the human eye."

Rebecca was perplexed, but she didn't ask anymore questions. Artemis was focusing intently on something, or rather someone. And that someone was a younger version of himself, not hidden far off. Past-Artemis seemed to be waiting for something. They sat like that for twenty minutes, in complete silence, before Holly returned from her recon mission.

"Sool's definitely here," she reported, "I spotted his big sidekick. No sign of him though. Or No1, although there's the chance that the big fellow is sitting on him."

"Interesting," mumbled Artemis, "He'll show himself soon though. Any minute now." Holly sat down next to the boy, staring straight into her own past.

"Guess I got back just in time," she said, a slight grin on her lips.

"Mhm," was Artemis' only reply. He scanned the sky briefly, his eyes darting everywhere, until finally resting on the oak tree once more.

"Soon," Holly nodded, "I can feel it." Rebecca was completely lost, so she decided to sit and listen, pretending she understood.

"There!" Artemis hissed suddenly, pointing towards the oak tree. Immediately, six eyes fell to the clearing and watched a dramatic scene unfold.

A short girl had landed in front of the tree, and upon removing her helmet, Rebecca recognized her as Holly. The elf of the past took her time, gazing at her surroundings and finally bending down to pick something up from the floor. As she did so, the unmistakable whistle of a projectile hummed through the air, missing Holly and lodging itself in a tree elsewhere.

Rebecca watched as Holly pulled out her own gun, similar to the one the foul creature called Sool had held against her earlier. It was then that a man Rebecca knew to be Butler, looking much younger, stepped from the shadows and muttered something about a peashooter to Holly, before grabbing her gun. The female was now unarmed.

"_I don't suppose you would consider a peaceful surrender."_

Rebecca's ears perked up at the sound of Artemis' voice. She nearly rolled her eyes, but instead, settling for nudging the boy in the ribs.

"Dramatic entrance much?" she laughed. Artemis raised an eyebrow at her in response, before smirking slightly and turned back to the scene. This time, Rebecca really did roll her eyes before following Artemis' example.

Past day Artemis was now lecturing Holly, speaking in some sort of gibberish about a ritual and the replenishing of magical powers. It was all a foreign language to Rebecca, who dealt in numbers and scientific laws.

And then, Holly of the past began speaking in a different voice, softer, yet deeper than her normal one. Rebecca found it very relaxing. A large smile spread upon her lips at the beautiful sound. Present day Artemis stood up and took a step forward, quickly glancing back at his female friends.

"Soon," he muttered.

What happened next was very strange. Artemis had no idea what he was thinking, but his actions spelled disaster.

Out of the corner of his eye, the boy could see Sool, off to the left, ready to strike. In front of him, stood a former version of himself. One that was being cruel to Holly; one that was about to hurt her. He had just given the order to shoot Holly.

"Stop!" he shouted, moving to jump from the bushes. He was stopped, however, by Rebecca and Holly pulling him back to the Earth. It was too late though. The damage was done.

For a moment, the world seemed frozen and Artemis could see everything. First, Sool smiled evilly and disappeared from sight, as though he no longer belonged to the scene. His eyes then fell upon his past self, who was looking around curiously. Butler was doing the same, his gun hanging uselessly at his side. This gave the past day Holly ample time to fly away, presumably returning to Haven, safe from the kidnapping Mud Men.

And then, without a sound, both Rebecca and Holly disappeared from his side and the world seemed to be plummeting downwards for a moment before lurching to an abrupt halt. He had never met either of them. This was certainly bad. Unsure of what to do, the Irish boy watched his past as it would now unfold. Twelve year old Artemis was telling Butler not to worry about the failure, that they would soon have another chance.

"No," Artemis muttered to himself, now hiding alone in the grass, "You won't get another chance. It was supposed to be Holly."

It was then that an interesting thought occurred to him. Why was it that he could still remember Holly, Rebecca, Foaly, Commander Root, and all the other friends and foes he had encountered through his last few years? He mentally went over everything he had once upon a time read in Doctor Velez's online journal.

_If one changes the past, one will remember said changes until returning to the present, after which all memories of the former past will be erased, and the new past will become accepted and normal. It is highly unlikely for anyone who did not cause the change to remember the true past._

So, he could still fix this. He just needed help. But from whom? He had so many questions his head was buzzing. Not to mention his extreme worry of what Haven had become and how Holly was coping with her 'new' life. Speaking of Holly, he was on her worldline, wasn't he? Perhaps not. Perhaps that's what the shifting had been. He would certainly have to ask an expert.

That was, if he could find one.

Artemis took a deep, calming breath as his jeep rattled off down the Irish countryside.

"Think logically," he murmured, "Think properly. No more drastic actions. I need a plan. I need…" He thought about it for a moment before a brilliant idea struck him. He was almost ashamed of having not realized it before. "I need Rebecca."

Artemis proceeded to pull his cell phone from his blazer pocket, and was instantly dismayed to find that he didn't get reception in the past. He slowly stood up on shaky legs and, lonely as ever, walked amongst the trees, hoping that he would reach a city soon where he could find transport of some sort to London.

-----

Early the next morning, before the sun had even begun to rise, Artemis was aboard a ferry on its way to England. His plan was to take a taxi to London once he arrived. Sure, it would cost quite a bit of money, but that was not a problem. He had brought his wallet along for the journey. A Fowl is always prepared.

Once the boat, which had cost a pretty penny, reached the coast of England, Artemis wasted no time in finding a taxi to bring him to Harley Street. It cost him twenty pounds, but he was dropped off right outside the door of Number 1723.

Artemis entered the building, sincerely hoping that Doctor Velez had kept the same residence for the past four years. As the door closed behind him, he smiled for the first time since his blunder at the old oak tree. The somewhat familiar face of Mariana Wade, Rebecca's overly friendly secretary, stared up at him from the reception desk.

"Can I help you?" she asked with a pearly white smile.

"Uhh…yes," Artemis nodded, shaking his daze of relief, "I was wondering if I could see Doctor Velez."

Mariana surveyed him thoughtfully, her eyes running over his tattered clothing and messy hair. A spark of pity danced behind her irises.

"Just a moment," she finally said, speaking in a soft voice, "Let me go and find her." Mariana stood up behind her desk and stalked off down the hall that Artemis knew housed Rebecca's office. He rubbed his eyes tiredly, sincerely hoping that the Doctor could help him. Although, he was sure she could. There was just the matter of if she would.

His train of thought was interrupted by Mariana coming back into the main room, a woman with dark hair pulled into a French twist, behind her. Her dark eyes stared at Artemis through glasses and a hint of recognition glinted for a moment, before disappearing.

"You wanted to see me?" asked the woman, who Artemis knew to be Rebecca. He nodded eagerly.

"I have a little problem Doctor," he said quickly, "I need your help. I need to travel through time."

Mariana looked sideways between Artemis and Rebecca. The doctor met her gaze and motioned for her to go elsewhere. Mariana took her leave, heading into the kitchen to get herself a coffee. Rebecca turned back to Artemis.

"Do I know you?" she asked cautiously. Artemis nodded vigorously. She seemed to have some sort of recollection of their previous adventure. That was a good thing. Rebecca raised an eyebrow at him, watching his every move.

"My name is Artemis Fowl," he said. Wrong choice of words. Rebecca nodded knowingly, a small smile on her lips.

"That's where I've seen you before. Your family is always making waves in one way or another. Probably some newspaper article I've read or something like that."

"No, no, no," Artemis shook his head, "We've met before. We figured out how to open a wormhole. We were going after Sool! Don't you remember?"

"We opened a wormhole?" Rebecca echoed with disbelief, "That's impossible. I've been trying for two years."

"I know," Artemis nodded softly, "But you have to understand. We opened it up and…I ruined the past. I made a big mistake and that's why I'm here. I have to fix it."

"I…I think you should go. I don't remember you."

Artemis opened his mouth to argue, but Rebecca had already turned away from him. He exited the office without another word. But he had not failed to notice the hint of uncertainty in the doctor's voice. He would try again tomorrow. He just hoped that tomorrow wasn't too late.

-----

_A/N: Oh no! So…please don't hate me. I promise everything will get resolved for better or for worse. Anyways, please review and let me know what you thought. Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	10. Artemis and Rebecca Visit the Circus

_A/N: Hello lovely people who are still reading this! I want to thank you all for your reviews of chapter nine and I'm terribly sorry to anyone whom I may have confused. Again, if you have any questions feel free to ask me. And now, onwards with the story. Enjoy!_

-----

**Chapter Ten; Artemis and Rebecca Visit the Circus**

_Haven_

Underground, things were a mess. And that was putting the situation very lightly. It was as if the Apocalypse had arrived. Then again, to the fairy people, it had. They had been discovered, their precious security breached. That spelled disaster.

It was Holly Short who brought the news home, bounding into LEP headquarters like the devil himself were after her. She had stormed straight into Commander Root's office delivering a synopsis of that night's events.

The Commander paled considerably as Holly spoke – a feat that none thought possible. Without second thought, he called a meeting to order. There were only a select few invited; the Council, Holly, the technical genius Foaly, and of course the Commander himself.

"We have to send someone up to mindwipe him."

The suggestion had come from one of the older council members. Foaly shook his head dramatically. Clearing his throat, he prepared to present his argument to the various fairies around the room.

"That," he began, "Would not be wise. You see, according to Holly, Fowl knows all about us…"

"That's a bit of an understatement," Captain Short interrupted, "He was casually spouting out every sacred secret the Book has on its pages!"

"Thanks Holly," Foaly said, focusing the attention back on himself, "It's because of this that we can't send a team up to mindwipe him. He'll expect it. And then he'll capture our team, just like he would have done to Holly. We can't risk it. I say, we go on lockdown and monitor this Fowl kid for a couple weeks. If we see any areas of real threat, then we deal with them."

"Do you have any idea how much that would cost pony?"

Foaly whinnied indignantly and shot his eyes over to where the comment had originated. Ark Sool was tapping his fingers on the table in front of him impatiently. Foaly nodded politely.

"I am aware of the costs sir, but I don't think we can put a price on the safety of Haven."

The other members murmured in agreement. Foaly looked pleased with himself and, after a quick glance, noticed that Commander Root had a pleased look on his face as well. Perhaps that meant a salary hike when this whole affair was over and done with.

"Well," Sool continued, "Miss Short told us that Fowl seemed to have quite the knowledge of our people, isn't that right?" No one spoke, and so Sool carried on. "Maybe, just maybe he's had some help from the inside, if you know what I mean."

"Excuse me?" Holly spluttered angrily, "Just what are you suggesting?"

"I just find it strange that Short is the one to find Fowl. She's not exactly the most reputable officer now, is she? Maybe sparking this incident with the humans is all in hopes that her little troll blunder earlier today will be forgotten."

It was impossible to tell who was redder, Holly or Root. Both looked close to exploding.

"How dare you…" Holly began, but her Commander cut her off.

"Sool, that's enough out of you."

The order had been simple, but Julius' tone of voice was command enough for anyone. Despite everything, he was still oddly calm. Finally, after a long awkward pause, another council member spoke up.

"We'll do what Foaly says. He hasn't been wrong yet."

"Let's just hope this Fowl isn't as intelligent as he seems," Holly muttered under her breath. No one heard her.

-----

_London, England_

Rebecca didn't sleep that night. How could she when the pale boy from earlier that day kept popping into her mind. It was infuriating, especially considering that she was positive they had met before.

But where? And when?

Her night was full of tossing and turning and when five o'clock finally rolled around, Rebecca had never been happier. At least now she had an excuse to be awake. Rolling out of bed, Rebecca groaned and headed to the kitchen, looking forward to her daily cup of coffee.

As she waited for the coffee machine to heat up, Rebecca noticed something strange. Her answering machine was flashing, indicating she had one new message. That was strange. She certainly didn't remember the phone ringing last night. Oh well, anyone who bothered to leave her a message usually had something important to say. She clicked the button that played back what she had missed.

"_Doctor Velez, it's me, Artemis Fowl. I know, I know, you're probably thinking I'm completely crazy by now, but please listen. I've done something really terrible with the time stream and I need your help. All I can say is please. If you find the time, please meet me at Piccadilly Circus at noon today."_

That was the end of the message. Rebecca stared at the answering machine with pursed lips. There was a certain sincerity behind Fowl's words that made her feel obliged to meet him. But then again, who was to say he wasn't just a great actor?

It didn't matter at that moment though. She still had almost seven hours to make a decision. Sure, it was a decision that could possibly alter her entire life, but still, seven hours was a long time. Right? 

Not so much.

It seemed like only mere seconds before noon had rolled around and Rebecca found herself standing beneath the statue of Eros in the center of Piccadilly. Her foot was tapping nervously on the cobblestone as she glanced at her watch. It was noon. Her eyes scanned the surrounding area carefully. And then she saw him.

He was sitting on the steps of the fountain, not far from where she was positioned. Taking a deep breath, Rebecca took a few steps forward and tapped him on the shoulder. Artemis turned around to face her, his worried face cracking into the small smile.

"Doctor Velez," he stood up and brushed off his pants, "I assume you got my message."

"Obviously," she said with a raised brow, "I must ask how you got my number though."

"The future," Artemis sighed with a hint of sorrow, "We know each other."

"How?"

"It's hard to explain."

Rebecca looked thoughtful, staring at Artemis through her glasses. The nervous tapping of her feet continued.

"You know," she finally said, "If I were anyone else I'd call you crazy."

"I know," Artemis said, unable to hold back a smirk, "But you know we've met before. I know you believe this is all possible. And I know Danny believed the same thing."

"How did you…" Rebecca gasped, her eyes growing wide with shock.

"I told you already," Artemis said, "We've met before. I know a lot more than you think I do."

"I don't know about you Artemis Fowl," Rebecca said, "I'm not sure of I trust you or not. But if you know so much, then perhaps you can tell me how we, supposedly together, opened the wormhole?"

Artemis grinned. Rebecca was easier to sway than she was last time – a bit less temperamental. He hypothesized that years of unsuccessful work would turn anyone bitter.

"It would be my pleasure Doctor."

-----

_A/N: It was short, I know. It was a filler chapter, just so we can all be caught up and know what's happened to our different characters. The next chapter should be longer, but I'm not making any promises. I'm super busy with various things. Please review. I feel like I'm losing my touch with Fowl!Fiction. Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	11. Familiarity

_A/N: You crazy kids! Well I know most of you already know this, but I'm super busy with school and theatre, but I definitely plan to have this story done by the end of November. There are two paths I've contemplated going down. The one that will end this story in less than five chapters, or the longer one, where our protagonists fool around in time for a little while longer than I could have down in five chapters. Right now, I'm thinking of going down the longer path because…well actually I'm not sure why. So anyways, here's the next chapter! I hope you enjoy!_

-----

**Chapter Eleven; Familiarity **

_London, England_

By the end of his story, Artemis had Doctor Velez staring at him with her mouth agape. It was unbelievable. In fact, it was just unbelievable enough to be true. And so Rebecca challenged him to do the impossible all over again.

"It'll be much harder with only the two of us," Artemis told her, "Last time there were four." Rebecca looked thoughtful.

"There has to be some other way then," she said, "There are a hundred ways to manipulate energy. We just have to think of something appropriate."

"By all means," Artemis gave a tiny mock bow, "Go for it."

"Always the gentleman," Rebecca remarked with a shake of her head, "Now, you said we used electricity last time. Maybe we can use it again, but differently, in a way that works for two people. What about…what about electromagnetism?"

"It's a brilliant idea," Artemis nodded, "But we'd need to produce an electromagnetic pulse to open up the hole. A concentration of energy that large would kill us. Not to mention we would probably need some sort of nuclear energy source. And I don't see any just lying around."

"Point taken. And what do you propose?" 

Artemis did not reply immediately. Instead, he took to pacing through the lobby of Rebecca's office, where the pair had returned to carry out their chat. He chewed impatiently on his bottom lip and tapped his fingers against his leg. Rebecca watched her younger companion in silence, somehow knowing that before long he would think of a wondrous solution to their troubles. Sure enough, Artemis suddenly donned a look of plain realization.

"I've got it!" he exclaimed. Rebecca resisted the urge to laugh at the fact that he had thrown his arms into the air and looked like a rather large fool. Artemis made a beeline for the laboratory in the back of the building, Rebecca following close behind.

"What on Earth are you planning?" she asked as she skidded to a halt right beside Artemis. He waited nervously as Rebecca pulled out her keys and unlocked the lab, leading him inside.

"Look," Artemis muttered as he hurried over to the place where he knew the wormhole was trapped, "There was something I didn't tell you before. Something a bit stranger than time travel and electricity."

"What?"

Artemis wiggled his fingers, focusing intently on the magic he felt running through his veins, mingled with his blood. He concentrated on releasing the enchanted spark through his fingertips and before he knew what had happened, an eruption of blue sparks cascaded from his hands, hitting the tiles of the lab, and fading into nothingness. Artemis looked up at Rebecca, eager to see what her reaction would be. Oddly enough, she was just staring at the teenager, a strange expression of disbelief displayed on her pretty features.

"It's magic," Artemis whispered, "Sort of like a…gift from the girl I was telling you about."

"Holly?"

"Yes."

"The fairy?"

"Yes."

"Interesting," Rebecca sighed, "This is so weird. I don't know whether to call you a genius or call an asylum and have you committed."

"I'd actually prefer the first option," Artemis replied with a slight chuckle, "Listen Rebecca, you know that seeing is believing. And you can't deny what you just saw, no matter how much you want to."

"So you're magic," the doctor murmured, "Can you open the wormhole?"

"In a way, yes," Artemis nodded, "I don't know of any spells that will help us journey into the past, but I do know that magic is energy…" 

"And energy can be easily manipulated to open the wormhole," Rebecca finished his sentence. Artemis nodded, a genuine smile creeping onto his face. They were finally making some progress and the chances of him seeing Holly again were starting to look greater. Rebecca herself was quite excited. Her experiments were starting to prove hopeless until the Fowl kid came along. But now he could possibly help her retrieve what mattered to her most. Something that had been taken from her only a few years prior; or rather someone.

"Well, what are you waiting for Fowl?" Rebecca shoved him towards the electrical wires that were holding the wormhole in place, "Work your magic."

Artemis reached out at a painstakingly slow pace. He could feel the energy radiating off the wormhole. And just as he was about to run his fingers over the invisible surface, he stopped, turning back to look at Rebecca, who wore an apprehensive expression.

"Why are we stopping?" she asked, her knuckles white from clenching her fists so tightly.

"Is it dangerous?" Artemis inquired, "I mean, this much exposure to raw energy." Rebecca looked as though she would faint right then and there.

"Just touch it," she hissed, "Nothing's going to happen." Of course, she wasn't entirely sure of that.

"Well," Artemis huffed, "I'm glad to see I'm so indispensable." Rebecca shot him an angry glare and he turned back to thin air, reaching over the copper wires that separated him from the past. Gathering his focus, Artemis rested the palm of his outstretched hand over an area where he felt a great deal of power radiating through the air. With a great thrust, Artemis let his emotions which had been bottling up since he had arrived in London run loose, escaping through his fingertips in the form of magical blue sparks.

Sure enough, the sparks gave way to more blue – an extremely familiar pulsing blue light appeared in the center of the copper wire fence. Artemis heard the jingle of keys hitting the floor and turned, once more, to Rebecca.

"You…you did it," she managed to whisper hoarsely. Artemis nodded curtly and delivered one last large burst of magic to the wormhole, hoping that he would be able to sustain it for quite some time. Stepping away from the now open portal, Artemis wore the slightest of smug expressions. Rebecca, after having pocketed her keys, jumped at him, wrapping her arms around his entire upper body.

"Genius!" she shouted, "You're a pure genius Fowl!" Artemis managed to somehow choke out a word of thanks through Rebecca's surprisingly strong grip. The two pulled away from each other, both smiling ear to ear. Carefully, they snaked their way through the copper wiring and stood, staring up at the amazing spectacle that was a wormhole. For the first time, Artemis noticed how truly beautiful it was. He missed Holly more than ever. The boy held out his hand to the doctor.

"Shall we?" he asked courteously. Rebecca grasped his hand and together, they stepped into the wormhole, hoping to change time once again. This time for the better.

-----

_Haven_

The city was a mess. Somehow, word of Holly Short nearly having been kidnapped by a human seemed to have leaked out to the general public. Needless to say, there was close to mass hysteria. However, the very elf that had caused this hysteria was seated comfortably at home on the orders of her Commander. And she was currently on the phone with her best friend.

"It's so weird Foaly," she said into the receiver, kicking her legs up onto the sofa, "He knew everything. Way more than a Mud Boy should have."

"It is strange Holly," the centaur muttered back. He was taking a break from documenting Holly's adventure, leaning back in his specially made swivel chair. "He must have had some inside source. Maybe a disgraced fairy."

"Maybe," Holly murmured, "But still…" Her voice trailed off as she fell into thought. After a moment, Foaly cleared his throat loudly, knocking his elfin friend back to reality.

"But what?" he asked.

"It's nothing," Holly muttered her response, "You'll think it's totally stupid."

"If it's bothering you, it's not stupid Holly," Foaly said. The auburn haired captain heaved a great sigh.

"Promise you won't laugh Foaly?"

"Centaur's honour."

"Well," she began, "I feel like…I kind of get the impression that I know the Mud Boy. It's really strange. When I saw him at that very moment, it didn't really register. But now, looking back on his face, he looks so familiar. It's really bizarre."

"Yeah okay Holly," Foaly snorted, earning a huff of annoyance from the elf, "Because you totally became best friends with the Mud Boy and saved the world a dozen times."

Holly couldn't help but laugh. It did sound pretty absurd.

"I guess you're right Pony Boy," Holly giggled, "Thanks."

"No problem," Foaly smiled, "Now I've got to run. Root is running around like a troll with its head cut off. Goodnight Holly."

"Night Foaly."

The connection was terminated and Holly snuggled even deeper into her sofa, fully letting the pillows consume her. She was sure Foaly had been correct. She was just stressed and that's why the Mud Boy looked familiar. And yet, as she slowly drifted off to sleep, Holly couldn't help but to think that there was so much more to the story.

-----

_Somewhere in time_

Rebecca, having never seen the inside of time before, was in total awe of her surroundings. She was rather disappointed having forgotten her pen and notebook in the office. Then she attempted to text message herself details about the wormhole. She was even more disappointed when she realized her plan didn't cover inside the space-time continuum.

"Trust me," Artemis said in an effort to cheer her up, "If everything goes according to plan then you'll know all this soon enough. Doesn't this look at all familiar?" Rebecca closed her eyes and focused intently on any distinct memories she had concerning the colour blue – her first trip to the ocean, her first pet canary, the colour of Danny's car, a tiny blue creature saving her life, the paint she had bought for her bedroom…

Wait. No, that was impossible.

"What's our plan anyways?" Rebecca asked, not answering the question Artemis had posed.

"It's simple really," Artemis explained, "I caused my first meeting with Holly to go awry. What we're going to do is travel back to that night, once more, and stop my former self from messing everything up. Then there's that villain I was telling you about…" 

"Sool?"

"Yes," Artemis nodded, "We have to prevent him from interfering as well. And if my meeting with Holly goes according to…well actual history, then everything will be restored to perfection."

"Yeah right," Rebecca remarked, "Because life was so perfect for all of us before."

"Well I didn't mean it like that," Artemis said, slightly taken aback, "Sorry."

"Its fine," Rebecca said with a shrug, "I was wondering something though."

"And that is?"

"Maybe we could look around a bit," she suggested. Artemis raised an eyebrow in question.

"What do you mean?"

"I want to just look around time. Don't you want to know what the future would be like if you had never met this girl in the first place. If your two worlds didn't…apparently collide."

Artemis thought about it for a moment. As much as he knew the sooner his mistake was rectified the better, he couldn't help but to feel curious about how the people of Haven were holding up. He wondered what could have been if he had never kidnapped Holly. Would she have uncovered Opal Koboi's rebellion alone? Would Julius Root still be alive? Would Hybras still be saved?

Maybe the future was worth a quick look.

-----

_A/N: Naughty, naughty Artemis, deviating from the plan like that. So, in the next chapter we'll see some future Haven. Well, future Haven of the past, if that makes any sense whatsoever. Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed that chapter. Review and let me know what you thought! Cheers!_

_-Liv xoxo_


	12. Barbeque

_A/N: It's been a while…Do you guys remember who I am? _

-----

**Chapter Twelve; Barbeque **

"Where to first?" Rebecca asked, her eyes resting on Artemis. The boy chewed his lower lip thoughtfully for a good moment before an idea bubbled into his head. He met Rebecca's gaze with what could almost be recognized as severity.

"You don't think this could cause anything bad to happen, do you?"

The doctor shook her head slowly, as if contemplating the question as she answered it. But when she spoke, she spoke with confidence that convinced Artemis there was no real danger in what they were doing.

"As long as we don't change anything else," Rebecca said, "We just have to observe. It'll be okay. And it'll be interesting."

"Right," Artemis nodded, "In that case…follow me."

If there was one thing Artemis Fowl was counting on, it was the fact that his worldline had remained unchanged in the entire time mix-up. Common sense dictated that it had stayed the same. He remembered everything; he still had his magic – so why should his life inside the space-time continuum be so different from that outside the odd little blue world. As he and Rebecca hurried along the flowing lines, Artemis realized he was correct. He could still see events of his past taking place – Holly included in many of them. Artemis swiftly passed the events that had passed earlier that evening, only glancing back at Rebecca once to notice she was following him with her wide eyes intent on the wonders surrounding her. After all, she could see herself in many of Artemis' past events but they had only met what seemed to be hours ago. Finally, after heading quite some time into the past, Artemis made the jump over to Holly Short's worldline.

"Okay," he heaved a deep, calming breath, "I'm going to open it. You keep it open."

"Huh?"

"Right," Artemis mentally slapped himself, "You don't remember. You have to keep the wormhole open for me or else I'll more than likely be stuck in the future…past…whatever…forever."

"And that would be bad," Rebecca nodded enthusiastically, "But how do I keep it open?"

"An arm, a leg," Artemis answered, "Anything really, just so long as it's inconspicuous enough to stay hidden. Sound good?" Rebecca nodded her approval and Artemis glared down at the pulsing blue line beneath his feet. Drawing in a deep breath he let the magic run through his veins straight out of his fingertips. And for what seemed like the hundredth time that night, a wormhole appeared.

"Be careful," Doctor Velez murmured as her teenaged companion slid into a world she would probably never see. Artemis nodded as he dropped to the street below. Luckily, he landed on something soft. Unluckily it was a pile a trash.

"Wonderful," Artemis muttered to himself, standing up, and brushing off his dusty clothing. He looked upwards and saw the tiniest bit of a forefinger sticking out from the sky. The doctor was doing her job well. There was just one tiny problem. Artemis was beginning to feel drained. Ripping holes in the space time continuum sure took a lot out of a boy genius. He would definitely have to think of an alternative way to move around through the wormholes. But for now…

Artemis surveyed his surroundings. He was in an alley – dark and dirty and very unpleasant. He started to walk towards a light that indicated the street but stopped dead in his tracks at the sound of an all too familiar voice. This was a much bigger problem that his fatigue.

The now-wary boy crept silently to the mouth of the alley and peered out. There appeared to be some sort of social gathering going on – a rather macabre one at that. The streets of Haven were crowded with all species of fairy, all of whom were doing the same thing.

"Yes, citizens of Haven," she crooned, "It was I who single-handedly took down the traitorous centaur Foaly and put an end to revolution. And now, you will bow to me. Your Queen."

Artemis could not believe his ears. He had travelled back to just after the goblin rebellion. Without Holly and him working together to stop it, Opal Koboi had become queen. Haven should be thanking their lucky stars he kidnapped the Captain in the first place. And odd sight pulled Artemis away from his reverie. He noticed that very few people were bowing to Koboi, who sat on a diamond encrusted monster of a hover-chair. But if she was queen…

That's when the LEP came in. Only, they weren't exactly the LEP. Sure, they had the weapons and the badges. But they were goblins. This could only mean one thing. Koboi-dictatorship. This was worse than he had expected. The goblins were using Neutrinos, on a higher than necessary setting, to enforce the bows that Queen Opal expected. This was awful. Artemis had to get back to the future…or the past….and change things back to the way they once were.

"Hey you!"

Artemis turned sharply and came face to face with the ugliest goblin he had ever seen. He drew in a deep breath, hoping to remain calm despite his flaring nerves. If this gobbling harmed him, the original Artemis – well that would be bad.

"Why ain't you bowin' to Queen Opal?" the goblin demanded. The creature's speech reminded Artemis of one thing. Goblins were not all that intelligent. In fact they were just plain dumb. The boy decided to use this to an advantage.

"I see your fellow…officers are using a rather low setting," Artemis said carefully.

"Uh-uh," the goblin rebounded, "Queen Opal says this is plenty hot enough."

"Maybe for an elf," Artemis nodded in agreement, "But not for a dwarf. I can show you how to roast one if you'd like." He was careful not to gag at the thought of barbequed Mulch.

"How?" the ugly little creature seemed genuinely interested.

"Let me show you," Artemis offered, gently prying the Neutrino from its owner's scaly hands. He hoped that this would work. With a deep breath, he turned the notch up one.

"Like this," he explained. And then Artemis Fowl pulled the trigger and the goblin became nothing more than little charred pieces of reptilian skin.

"Gross," the boy muttered. He turned on his heel and hurried to the place where he left Rebecca waiting. Artemis was fairly certain he would not win another fight. He reached the spot right below Rebecca's slightly exposed finger and kicked some garbage bags to stand on so he could reach.

"Doctor," he called out in a whisper, "I'm ready to go!"

There was a moment of silence and then the wormhole opened to new lengths as Rebecca's head peeked out. She reached both arms down in front of her.

"Grab on," she instructed. Artemis stood on his tiptoes and reached, making contact with Rebecca. She pulled him up and they tumbled back a bit as the wormhole closed rapidly.

"So what did you see?" Rebecca inquired.

"Nothing comforting," Artemis answered, "Now let's go change history."

"Actually…" Rebecca looked sheepish, "There was one other thing I wanted to do first."

-----

_A/N: I know! FTW? Liv actually wrote something? It wasn't much and it wasn't that great, but I kind of like this story. I'll try to finish it. Cheers!_


	13. Déjà Vu

_Dear Readers, if there are any of you still around. I know it has been a very long time, a year, maybe more. It feels like an eternity. I'm not going to make excuses as to why I have neglected my writings here, just know that I have had a very busy absence. I lost my best friend and gained a new baby brother. My hair is blonde now. I quit soccer and started taking karate classes instead. I originally intended to complete this story, but it looks as though that may never happen. I offer you my sincerest apologies along with this update, hoping you will enjoy it, but not promising there will be more, however hard I may try to please you. Hello to all my old friends, if any of you are still here. I hope you're well and have stayed out of trouble. Here we go, again._

**Chapter Thirteen; Déjà Vu **

The sun was irritating Artemis' eyes as he stood waiting for the bus with Rebecca. She looked upset, which made Artemis wonder exactly where they were and how anyone, besides himself, could be so miserable on a rare sunny day in London. He decided against asking for the moment, the rational, sympathetic part of his mind overruling the inquisitive part.

"Just for future reference," Artemis stared pointedly at the bright red Double Decker bus that pulled up to the curb where they stood, "I absolutely detest public transportation." Rebecca did not reply until they had paid their fare and were seated at the back of the first level of the bus, away from the few other patrons.

"I didn't get my license until after Danny died," she muttered, gazing out the window at the passing London skyline.

"Oh," Artemis' lips turned down at the corners, "I'm sorry." Again, Rebecca said nothing, choosing to stare unblinkingly at anything that was not the pale teenager beside her. Artemis knew she was trying extremely hard not to let herself cry and he felt pity make his stomach turn. He couldn't help but to ask, mentally berating himself as the words flowed from his lips.

"Is that why we're here?"

Finally, Rebecca turned to him, her eyes reddening with the strain of holding in tears, making Artemis instantly regret his insensitivity. She nodded curtly, biting down on her bottom lip to stop it from quivering. Artemis was unsure of what to do and any comforting words he thought up seemed to do the situation no justice. Of course, he knew how it felt to lose, or think you had lost, someone dear, yet he did not believe his experience in the matter would comfort Doctor Velez in the slightest. Instead, the morbid conversation fell into tense silence, with Rebecca resting her head against the cool glass window and Artemis going over the laws of physics in his head to pass the time as the bus rollicked down a bumpy road. After what seemed like an eternity, he felt Rebecca rise beside him, her arms hanging limply by her side.

"Our stop is coming up," she told him dryly, her frown even deeper than before. Artemis nodded absentmindedly and stood as the bus slowed to a stop. The pair exited through the open doors and Artemis found himself standing on a residential street lined with small, quaint looking homes. It would have been a welcoming scene had Rebecca not been staring at one whitewashed house in particular, her eyes distant and cold.

"Where are we?" Artemis asked, partially sure his hypothesis was correct and the question was unneeded.

"Spitalfields," Rebecca replied, "Hershey Street. We lived there." She pointed to the house across the road. Artemis nodded and followed as she began to cross the street, which was strangely void of cars. He could practically see her heart hammering in her chest as they crept up the front lawn and looked into the window beside the door, the blinds of which were hanging slightly open. Rebecca gasped slightly, immediately ducking out of sight.

"That's him," she told Artemis, her face considerably paler than his. The boy looked into the window and saw a handsome young man talking on the phone, a large grin on his well-chiselled face. He laughed as he ran his hands through his messy dark hair, the sound travelling through the thin walls of the house. Artemis looked down at Rebecca, sorrow in his eyes. She had her own eyes closed, leaning against the wall, a pained expression on her face.

"He's talking to me," she whispered. Artemis took a moment to process the revelation before he patted her shoulder awkwardly, suddenly understanding why Rebecca had chosen to return to this moment in time.

"What happened?" he asked quietly, hoping she wouldn't mind the question.

"He's going to leave the house in about ten minutes," Rebecca looked stressed, "And drive out to the grocery store to pick up milk, because we're running low. He's going to grab some dinner too, probably Chinese food because I'm craving it and he wants to make me happy. He'll go to the bank first, I guess, because he hates using his stupid debit card. While he's there, someone desperate will be there too, pointing a gun at the teller, and she's only a kid, about your age. And Danny, he's going to want to be a hero. So he'll go at this guy and get himself shot three times. He'll die before the paramedics arrive. And I'll get a phone call at work. And…"

Her voice hitched in her throat and tears began to fall from her eyes.

"My God," Artemis was horrified, "Rebecca, I'm so sorry." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, feeling her shake with silent sobs. "You know," he said, almost as if it were an afterthought, "We could always…"

"No," Rebecca's voice was surprisingly strong, "I didn't come here for that. I only wanted to see him smile one more time."

"But…"

"I can't explain it, Artemis," she muttered, her shoulders tensing. And it was the truth. Rebecca had worked tirelessly for years to unlock time's secrets just so she could hold Danny in her arms once more. But now that she was here, in the moment and so close to changing it, she simply could not bring herself to think about doing it. "Call it déjà vu or something."

Artemis nodded knowingly. Her subconscious was dredging up memories of their earlier experiences with meddling in time. However, Artemis was unsure of whether or not he should be annoyed with the Doctor's selflessness. He vaguely wondered that, if Danny were still alive and well, could this entire mess have been avoided? Which reminded him of one fiery elf who unfortunately had no idea who he was.

"We should get going," Rebecca mumbled, "We don't want to get caught."

"My thoughts exactly," Artemis said gently, "Well, almost exactly." He and Rebecca snuck to the side of the house and waited for Danny's beat up old car to pull out of the driveway and turn off of the street. Rebecca watched him go with glassy eyes.

"I can't believe I let him do that," her voice rang with defeat. Artemis did not reply, a sudden horrified thought having complete control over him. "Artemis?" Rebecca looked over at him sideways.

"We have bigger problems," he looked her straight in the eyes to emphasise his point, "In all our, um, excitement…we forgot to hold open the portal. We're stuck here."

_---*_

_Author's Note: I think I've lost my touch…_


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